The Thunder of Dragons
by NatRambles
Summary: When Hermione left the orphanage where she was raised to visit Harry at Grimmauld, she expected it to be a perfectly normal visit. What she got instead was a creature inheritance and a whole history she knew nothing about, but has no choice but to accept. Eventual Hermione/Multiple.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Please note, this is not going to be one of those fics that has a huge over arching theme or villain. This is very much a... walk through life with these characters who are doing life things. I doubt we will ever have a definite "ending" per say, though I suppose there will be natural stopping points if you don't want to continue.

This is also my first fanfiction... so have some mercy in the critical reviews.

I can't guarantee when I will be updating. Right now I have four chapters completely written and beta'd. I will do my best to update regularly, but I'm a stay at home mom with five children. Life happens, and I don't apologize for that. Please note though, this fic will _never_ be abandoned without notice. I will always continue to update, just sometimes it might be slower than you expect.

This fic was highly inspired by Starlight Massacre's Rise of the Drackens. It's slash Harry/Multiples and I adored it, but I spent the entire time reading it being like "What would happen if Hermione was a dracken?" So I decided to write it!

Thank you to my wonderful beta AlaskanAppaloosa! You have been an invaluable resource when writing this, and gave me the confidence to not only continue writing, but to post this as well. Thank you so much.

Don't own Harry Potter, JK Rowling and all her peeps do. I'm just playing with her toys!

* * *

Hermione rose from her bed with a groan, peering around in the dull morning light. A sigh escaped her as she realized her dream of Hogwarts had been just that. A dream. Instead, the dreary walls of St. Catherines home for young girls greeted her.

It wasn't that Hermione didn't appreciate having a place to call home while she wasn't at Hogwarts. She did, really. But the orphanage she had grown up in after her parents had died in a car accident, was in a word? Dull. When compared to Hogwarts, it could even be called depressing.

When Hermione had gotten her letter from Hogwarts, her head mistress had been unsurprised, and let Hermione know there were several other girls in the home who had gotten letters in previous years. Try as Hermione might though, none of them had been particularly interested in friendship. It was hard, coming home here and knowing that there were other magicals, yet she still didn't fit in. She missed Harry and Ron. She missed classes. She missed the _library._ Her community library just couldn't compare to Hogwarts' shelves and shelves of magical books.

With another deep sigh, Hermione hauled herself out of bed. She had always been an early riser, and it was a benefit when one was competing with 30 other girls for hot water in the morning shower. She grabbed her toiletries bag and headed into the shower room, humming a little tune to herself as she passed the other beds in her dormitory. One particularly surly girl threw a pillow at the interruption of her sleep, but in the haze of sleepiness, hit only her bed post. A quick giggle was all Hermione allowed herself before she left the room.

At 16, Hermione was just barely under the age the orphanage still allowed. At 17 all girls were turned out or chose to leave on their own. Hermione was only a few weeks from her birthday, and today, her sizable brain was taken up once again with the problem of what she would do after she no longer had a home to come home to.

'_I suppose to could ask Harry if I could stay with him at Grimmauld.. Or maybe Mrs. Weasley would let me stay at the Burrow.."_As soon as Hermione had _that_ thought, however, she shook her head. No. The Burrow was a lovely place, but close proximity to Ron 24/7 did not sound like a fun prospect. Early last year, Ron had decided that they should date, and took it upon himself at every opportunity to ask Hermione to be his future wife. But somehow being told "I don't know... it just seems right. You're ... Hermione." Just didn't sit well with her as a good enough reason to commit to someone she had nothing in common with. Unfortunately, Ron didn't see it this way, and persisted in dogging her every step with his puppy dog eyes and "C'mon 'Mione"'s. It was infuriating.

Harry on the other hand... A quiet smile came to her face as she thought of her bespectacled friend. When Harry had moved in with Sirius earlier that year, Hermione had been delighted. The defeat of Voldemort by Dumbledore had left Sirius free to come out of hiding and claim his god son properly. Hmmm... No. Grimmauld wasn't really an option either. Harry and Sirius were just relearning how to be a family. The last thing they needed was her intruding on them long term. Already she had a week booked to stay at Grimmauld with Harry, starting tomorow. Hermione knew her friend would happily open his home to her for a longer period of time, but she refused to be a bother to him.

Putting the issue from her mind for the moment, Hermione turned to getting her unruly hair clean. _If only I was allowed potions here, this would be so much easier..." _

Her shower went quickly, and before Hermione knew it, she was back in her dorm, dressed and ready to go. The other girls were just starting to wake, groaning and stretching in bed.

"Good morning everyone! Better get moving, Haversham is going to be making her rounds soon." More groans met Hermiones announcement, but most of the girls got moving a little faster. The headmistress, Mrs. Haversham, was a hard woman, and strict on rising early and being productive with your entire day. Summer break from school was no exception.

Hermione occupied herself with brushing her mane of hair while watching the others get ready. She wasn't particularly close with the other girls in her home. Those who were magical were older, and those her own age thought she was snooty for getting a scholarship to go to a 'fancy boarding school'. So mostly Hermione kept to herself.

It didn't take long for the girls to get their dorm into proper shape for Havershams inspection, and at 7:00 on the dot, the Headmistress herself opened the door to the dorm. Looking around with a grim face that gave her the appearance of a general inspecting her troops, Haversham pulled out the clipboard that never left her side and started to bark out assignments for the day.

Most were chores assignments, but one was different today.

"Granger, you are to meet with the board at 11:00 today. Don't be late, and dress nicely."

A puzzled look crossed Hermiones face before she shook it away. There was no use worrying about it, whatever the board had to say to her, fretting about it wouldn't change a thing.

The next hours were spent doing basic chores, breakfast, straightening the kitchen, and in Hermiones case, hiding under the stairwell reading a book. The chiming of the old antique clock told her it was 10:30 and time to get read for her meeting. Slipping a long navy maxi skirt over her cut off shorts, Hermione walked to the board room and knocked on the heavy oak doors.

Mrs. Haversham opened them to let her in, and Hermione could barely contain her curiosity. Never before had she seen inside this particular room. It was one of the few that was absolutely off limits to the girls who occupied the house. She was very disappointed to find that the room that had occupied her 10 year old imagination so often, contained only one long wooden table, and 15 chairs around it, all occupied by people significantly older than herself.

With a smile one of the elderly ladies indicated her to sit and make herself comfortable in the chair at the end of the table. What followed was generally what Hermione had been expecting. Questions about her plans after leaving the home ("I'm not sure yet Sir."), questions about how she found her experience there ("I'm very grateful that I have a home Ma'am. There are many who do not."), and the board giving her general information about help they could provide for her after she left. None of this was surprising. It all seemed perfectly routine, practiced even. But then... something changed.

The tone of the conversation grew heavy. "Ms. Granger. As I'm sure you're aware, your birthday is swiftly approaching." _Well of course it is. Isn't that why we've been having this conversation?_ Rather than give the snarky remark, Hermione nodded, smiling softly. "Yes Sir."

The old man at the end of the table peered down at her, seeming to size her up before saying in a low wheezy voice "We require all girls to be here at the house on the night of their 17th birthday. So we can give them a proper... send off. You understand, of course, that this will mean coming home for the day."

Hermione nodded, having already known this for many years. All girls got a sending off party the night before they were turned out into the world. "Yes Sir. I will be back."

"Very good. You may leave, Ms. Granger." Hermione gave her thanks and walked out, ready to face the rest of the day. Shaking her head, Hermione set about filling her day with packing, the last of her chores, and of course, more reading. Soon it was time for lights out, and Hermione was asleep before her head hit the pillow, consumed with dreams of the knight bus, Grimmauld place, and Hogwarts.

The next morning bloomed bright and clear, and Hermione bounded out of bed. Throwing her hair back into a simple braid, and changing into a pair of cut off jean shorts and a pink t-shirt was all she needed to be ready for her 7:00 appointment on the knight bus. Her suitcase was already packed, including all her school things, and her precious wand. Hermione had been expressly forbidden from carrying it around at school, but it was in the front pocket of the hand me down brown suitcase she carried with her, ready to be grabbed as soon as she finally got back to the wizarding world.

With a quick goodbye to Mrs. Haversham, who solemnly reminded her to be sure to be back on her birthday, Hermione was off. The knight bus stopped briefly in front of the home before whizzing off into the streets, bound for Grimmauld place.

As soon as her feet touched the ground outside of Grimmauld, Harry was there giving her a hug. The feeling of safety that always accompanied his presence was comforting and felt like coming home. "Hello Harry, how has your summer been?"

With a grin, Harry pulled away and inspected her at arms length. "My summer was fine. You're to skinny again. We need to get more food into you."

Hermione laughed and shook her head. Ever since Harry had put on a couple of feet worth of height, and gained a couple stone worth of weight, he had all sorts of comments about how skinny Hermione was. "You know me Harry. Eat like a bird and all that jazz."

He grumbled at her before giving her another hug."We'll see about that 'Mione. How was your summer?"

"Boring as always, I couldn't wait to come see you! I missed the wizarding world."

Harry nodded knowingly, having very much missed it as well when he was forced to go back to his aunt and uncles every summer. "You know you're always welcome here..."

Hermione automatically nodded to her friends assertion, even as she rejected it. "I could never do that to you Harry. You've just moved in with Sirius, I already feel I am a bother being here for the week!" Harry made obvious sounds of disagreement as they pulled open the door to Grimmauld, and seemed set to argue, but was cut off by his god father swooping in to give Hermione a hug.

"Hello Kitten! Welcome back!"

Hermione smiled brightly at Sirius, giggling a bit at his effusive happiness. "Hi Sirius, how has your summer been?"

"Oh, pretty interesting. I moved in with this new roommate. He kinda smells, but he's a right good cook when he wants to be!" A mischievous look flashed in Sirius' eyes as Harry protested that he did not smell, "thank you very much!" Hermione laughed and played along, happily teasing Harry, falling into an old routine with Sirius.

The evening continued with stories of Harry and Sirius' adventures learning to live together. Hermiones sides hurt from laughing so much, and for the first time all summer, she felt truly at home.

It was late in the night before they finally retired, and sleep came quickly to the exhausted young woman.

She woke at her normal early hour by a thin sliver of light peeking through the closed curtains of her room. But when Hermione opened her eyes fully... she was puzzled. The world was.. sharper. She could see every speck of dust in the air. Every miniscule crack in the old hardwood floor. The wealth of detail was overwhelming.

Certain it was just an aberration from her being back in the magical world, Hermione walked to her mirror... And screamed.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **

Thank you everyone who posted your lovely reviews! It was such a treat to get to read every one. 3 I appreciate all of you so much!

Thank you to AlaskanAppaloosa, my wonderful and amazing beta!

Don't own Harry Potter, JK Rowling and all her peeps do. I'm just playing with her toys!

In other notes, here is my short list for mates for Hermione, let me know who are your favourites! I'm having troubles narrowing the pool down! Vote for your top 2!

Severus Snape

Lucius Malfoy

Draco Malfoy

Viktor Krum

Neville Longbottom

Bill Weasley

Charlie Weasley

Theodore Nott

O/C

* * *

Within moments Harry was at Hermiones door, throwing it open, wand drawn ready to defend his friend. But instead of an unknown trespasser, he was met with flashing fangs and pure white wings.

"Harry! Get back!" Sirius jumped between the two young people, wand raised high. "Ok Kitten. It's ok. You need to calm down. Please."

Hermione for her part was completely overwhelmed. "What is wrong with me?" She screeched, her... wings? Fluttering in her fear.

"Kitten. I don't know how, but... I think, you're a Dracken..."

Hermione didn't give him the opportunity to finish his sentence before yelling "What the hell is a Dracken?!"

Sirius watched her warily for a moment before replying "Drackens are a humanoid dragon species. They stay unactivated and hidden until their 17th birthday when they come into their inheritance. Take a peek in the mirror Kitten. You're beautiful."

With a small shudder, Hermione did as he instructed, turning to peer into the mirror.

In her rush to sleep the night before, she had only put on a long oversized t-shirt, which gave her the ability to examine her entire body quite closely. Hermione took a deep breath and started with her face. Her general facial structure seemed unchanged, retaining her slim, high cheekboned structure, and her eyes were her normal rich hazel, but that was where things got strange. Across her forehead, cheeks, and nose were small scales. A wandering hand proved they were soft and smooth, blending almost seasmlessly with her more human skin. Her hair seemed to have tamed itself down in the night, falling in soft ringlets rather than a ball of frizz, but to her relief it's warm chestnut color remained unchanged. Another deep breath was needed when she moved down her body.

Most of her skin was covered by the white scales, but by far the biggest change in her own eyes... was the wings. Beautiful white wings spanned across her back, fluttering slightly at her perusal as if she had no proper control of them. _Well, I suppose I don't. _With a tentative hand she stroked them, gasping at the sensation. _Talk about erogenous zones..._ With a start Hermione noticed her changed hands for the first time.

Sharp claws marked the end of her slim fingers, obviously quite deadly. Running her tongue across her teeth confirmed her fear that they were changed as well. Pointed fangs now sat where blunted teeth used to sit. Her slim body seemed to her to be more stream lined and muscular, and yet, also more feminine. Her breast and hips had subtly grown, but didn't seem out of proportion with her small 5' 2" frame.

With a deep seated groan she turned back to Sirius and Harry. "How?"

Sirius, still very much on guard, started to speak. "When and how did the orphanage tell you your parents died kitten?"

"When I was only days old, and in a car accident."

"I think the more likely story is your parents were killed by poachers." A chill run down Hermiones spine at these words. "You see, dracken scales are a highly valuable potions ingredient. Poachers will often target dracken families with chicks, capturing the babies and raising them for slaughter when they reach their inheritance. Drackens can birth both magical and dracken children, so until the day of your 17th birthday, they wouldn't be sure which you are. What I don't understand is why they let you go."

Hermione shuddered, then whispered. "My birthday isn't for another couple of weeks. They asked me to come home for the night..." Suddenly, things started to fall into place for Hermione. The number of girls who had gone missing after their 17th birthday. The orphans had assumed they went into the wizarding world... but what if that wasn't the case. What if the wizarding world assumed they left into the muggle world, and they were lost in the cracks between the two systems?

"Why allow us to leave at all?" The words were whispered to herself, but Sirius answered.

"I suspect it's the quill. All Dracken babies are by nature, magical. And the quill at Hogwarts records every magical birth in Great Britain. I assume the poachers didn't want you being missed and have questions being brought back on them." Hermione nodded before whipping around to meet his gaze.

"My parents?" Sirius shook his head sadly.

"Dracken parents don't rest Hermione. If their chicks are stolen, Dracken parents tear apart the world looking for them, and the first place they would have looked is Hogwarts. No Hermione. The more likely scenario is your parents were killed when you were stolen."

Logically, Hermione knew this was true. Her analytical brain had always accepted that there was a good chance that she would never find her parents. But the small, quiet voice that all orphaned children had whispered _"Maybe they're out there. Maybe it was a mistake. Maybe they still love you."_ many many nights while she lay in the hard beds at the home. Quieting that voice would take time.

"I see." Turning back to the mirror, Hermione sighed. "What now? It's not like I can go out like this!"

With a chuckle Sirius explained to her that by focusing and reconnecting with the human inside her, she would be able to turn back to a human form.

About 15 minutes later, Hermione had managed to clear her mind enough to withdraw her wings and get her scales to reform into smooth skin. "Wait. Sirius, how do you know so much about this?"

A grin passed over his face, reminding her of his doggy counterpart. "I had a friend growing up. His family were all drackens. He let me into their lives, and a bit into their secrets too. Boy am I ever glad!"

"What am I going to do?" The whispered words revealed just how scared this new change had made the young woman.

Instantly both Harry and Sirius were giving her bear hugs. "First off Kitten, we're gonna get you something to eat. Then we're gonna call Dumbledore. Hopefully he knows how to contact the Dracken counsel, maybe they will have some answers for us."

Breakfast was a simple affair, cold cereal and milk. Hermione had to actively try not to gag as she ate. Three bites into her meal she pushed it away, murmuring about how she would rather eat anything else. With a small smile Sirius went to the fridge and pulled out a steak, putting it down in front of Hermione after only a small heating charm. After a short moment of hesitation, she dug in with her hands, eating every bite of the steak and licking her fingers clean before looking over at Harrys shocked face and blushing. "Sorry... it must be a Dracken thing."

Harry waved her off, "It's ok, it's just... strange I guess. It's not often you get to see such a little woman tear into a steak like it's her job." He swept his hand through his thick hair, shoving it all away from his face. "I mean, don't get me wrong, you're still my amazing best friend... but wow Hermione. This is all just... wow."

A mirthless chuckle left Hermione's mouth. "Yeah. Tell me about it."

Sirius, having left to floo call Dumbledore, returned to the kitchen to the two friends awkwardly staring at their dishes, silent except for the scrape of Harry's spoon against his bowl.

"Well this is the most dreary I've seen you guys since the war. C'mon pups, Dumbleore will be here in a couple of hours. Let's go see what the library has to say about drackens. I mean. It's the _Black_ library. There must be something in there about drackens."

Hermione visibly perked up at the idea of being able to peruse the massive library on the third floor. She had been longing to dig into it for awhile now, but Sirius had had to spend most of the summer dismantling the anti-muggleborn hexes on the books and the library itself.

A happy sigh escaped Hermiones mouth as Sirius pushed open the heavy double doors to the library. "Well kitten, the books are sorted by category, so it shouldn't be to hard to find the books on magical creatures." Pointing to the left, Sirius sighed "I did that side recently. It's not in there. Sorry, between the shelves and shelves of books, I've forgotten where most things reside. It's not in those two shelves. Everything else is fair game. Split up, and holler if you find it."

Hermione and Harry both nodded, the former visibly more excited to be diving into the stacks than the later.

Walking through the shelves of books, Hermione could almost pretend that things were still, well, normal. The smell of old books was still comforting and safe. Her eyes were still drawn to the thick spines, her brain churning at the interesting titles. It seemed that she was currently walking through a section on arithmancy. The subject had been one of her favourites in school, and it took her substantially more time than it should have to move on, because her hand kept drifting up to bring a tome down and examine it.

Hermione hadn't even made it through the next section, History of Magic, before Harry called out "I found it!" With a soft regretful sigh, she replaced the ancient first edition book on early wizarding communities on the shelf before going to join Harry. It took significant effort on her part to keep her eyes on the ground and away from the books, and she got so caught up in the pattern on the worn green and gold patterned carpet that she nearly ran into Harry.

"Oh! I'm sorry Harry! I just... didn't want to get distracted by..." With a wave of her hands, Hermione indicated the entire library and her friend just laughed, knowing just how much effort it must have taken.

"Such self control you are exhibiting Hermione, in a library full of books and you're only reading a small portion. I'm so proud of you." Harry missed Hermiones flush as she remembered just how little time she actually spent searching for the magical creatures section.

Thankfully she was saved from confession by Sirius joining them. He perused the shelves in the section with a frustrated grumble. There were two stacks of books in this section, both 20 feet high and requiring a ladder to reach the top shelves. "Ok pups. Pull everything that looks like it might contain any sort of information about drackens. I'll start at the top left, Harry, the top right, and Hermione, start at eye level. Stack the books on that table over there and then we'll start the deep dive."

Hermione let out a happy sigh at the idea that had both of the men laughing.

Harry shook his head through his laughter "Only you would be so blissfully happy at the idea of hours of researching."

A non-committal happy hum was all the response Hermione deemed to give him. Her hands were already rapid fire pulling books from the shelves, her sharp eyes flicking through index tables where available, and flipping through books when they weren't.

Harry and Sirius shared a long suffering glance before ascending the ladders to start their own searches.

The better part of an hour had passed before they finished scouring the shelves for books. There were about fifteen books stacked on the table, with two or three set aside as truly promising. Hermione got started on those while Harry and Sirius started the dive into the larger stack.

The first book Hermione read through had a section on drackens... but it was short and unhelpful.

"_Drackens are a dark creature. If ever you encounter one, kill it upon sight. If it is a female, you must also cull any chicks or males. The drackens will be extremely dangerous, and nearly impervius to magical attacks. Recommend using a sharpened steel sword for best effects." _

Hermione paled at the description, but added _"Potentially impervius to magical attacks, dark? Chicks?"_ on her note sheet. "Sirius. Answer me honestly. Am I gonna lay eggs? This book just referenced dracken babies as chicks."

Sirius laughed and shook his head. "Nah Kitten. Drackens have live births, kinda. Technically you guys are ovoviviparous. You lay eggs, but retain them internally until hatching. It makes things like ultrasounds... difficult. You can pretty much get a number but not much other information."

"Wonderful." Hermiones sarcastic declaration prompted what could only be described as a giggle from Harry.

A glare from the young woman prompted him to throw up his hands in surrender. "You have to admit Hermione, the idea of you laying eggs is kinda adorable."

A growl met his declaration. "Sure it does to you! It's not you who's got to push it out! Wait... Sirius. You said number. As in more than 1..."

Sirius nods knowingly "Yes, my friend said that drackens have between 1-5 babies per clutch. I'm not sure what determines the number or even when they can give birth. It was a secret I wasn't privy to."

"Five. Five? Five?!" Hermione promptly started hyperventilating, "I can't have FIVE babies!"

Harry jumped up to rub her shoulders, trying to ease her tension. "Calm down Hermione. We don't know just how common it is, or anything else really. No use getting upset about it before we know for sure."

Hermione took a shuddering breath before nodding. "Right. Right. You're right of course. Right. Ok. I can do this."

"That's the spirit Kitten!" Sirius nodded happily before picking up the next book in her pile. "This looks promising. Start here next." He passed Hermione the book carefully. It was old and falling apart, but had a whole chapter on Drackens.

Before Hermione had a chance to dig into it though, the floo flared, and Dumbledore stepped out, dressed in bright purple robes with yellow moons over them. "Well. Hello Ms. Granger. I hear you have some exciting news."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**A/N: **Thank you to AlaskanAppaloosa, my fantastic beta who makes all this possible!

I don't own Harry Potter, JK Rowling and all her peeps do. I'm just playing with her toys!

Ok! I'm gonna answer some questions that were asked in reviews here in the authors notes when I see them, because I figure if one person asked, maybe more of them want to know too?

What are your plans for Sirius this fic?

Sirius is gonna stay as the fatherly/brotherly figure in this fic, sorry guys! He's gonna be the best uncle ever to Hermione's children!

Is Hermione an only child?

That's for me to know and you to find out!

Ok, this is my last fully beta'd chapter. Would you guys prefer more chapters more often but they are unbeta'd, then I will replace with beta'd chapters when my beta gets finished with them or would you rather wait on chapters until they are beta'd?

* * *

"Exciting!? Exciting. That's the word you have for this Sir? Really? I get to find out I'm some crazy dragon-human hybrid with wings and fangs and Merlin knows what else! I get to read a book by the _darkest wizards in history_ about how those dragon-human hybrids should be slaughtered on sight and the word you chose for this is EXCITING?!" Hermione took a couple deep breaths, trying to calm down before she once again addressed Dumbledore. "I'm sorry Sir, but I fail to see the excitement in this."

Dumbledore's face fell as she went on her little tirade, but he recovered quickly. "Oh my dear girl, what an awful introduction to a noble race such as the drackens. Please. Sit. Let me explain."

Hermione reluctantly plopped into a chair beside Harry, leaning her head over onto her best friends shoulder. "Go ahead Headmaster."

Dumbledore took his own sweet time settling into a dark red wing back chair he summoned from across the library before turning to Hermione with a twinkle in his eye. "First off my dear, let me tell you what I know of drackens."

Hermione nodded impatiently, motioning with her hands for him to get on with it. "I'm sorry headmaster, but I'm just not in the mood to be patient today."

Dumbledore nodded in that infuriatingly calm way before continuing. "Drackens are far more than a dragon-humanoid hybrid Ms. Granger. Drackens are the embodiment of elemental fire magic. As a dracken, your body will have some significant changes. I'm sure you have noticed some already? Wings, scales, fangs, and claws?" Hermione nodded slowly. "There will be others. Your core temperature will run much hotter than an average human. You will be nearly impervious to all but the most severe of burns. You will also find your menses do not come anymore." Hermione flushed a deep red while Harry and Sirius coughed and tried to avoid the eyes of either Hermione or the headmaster.

"You will also find that you have highly heightened senses, primarily vision, hearing, and smell." Hermione nodded, having already noticed just how much more intense her olfactory input was.

"But my dear, the biggest changes will be in your brain and hormones. First, I must ask. Have you had sexual relations with anyone?"

Somehow Hermiones blush got darker as Harry and Sirius both whipped around to look at her questioningly as she fervently shook her head.

"Good. This is _very_ good Ms. Granger. You see, drackens are split into two types, of a sort. There are submissive drackens, those who bear and care for the young, and dominant dracken, who protect and provide for their mate and chicks. I assume that when you took your dracken form, your form was white, almost colourless?" Hermione nodded slowly, but alarm bells started to go off in her head.

"Then my dear, you are a submissive dracken, when you take your mate, or mates, your wings and scales will take on the colour of your dominants."

Hermione snarled and stood, shoving the table away from herself. "Submissive? _Mates? _As in plural? So what now? I am to become a baby-factory? Locked away in some house somewhere bearing chicks for my _mates_ while they get to go out and care for world? I think _not _."

"Oh no Ms. Granger, don't mistake me. dracken submissives are ferocious and intelligent by their own right. And while dracken dominants are protectors and providers, they are, in my own experience, caring and dedicated mates. As for the young bearing? I suppose that depends on you. You see, dracken submissives have heat cycles rather than a typical human ovulation cycles. The length between heat cycles is determined by the submissive, and my understanding if that each heat has the potential to produce a pregnancy. I also understand that normal birth control does not work for drackens due to their raised internal temperature."

Hermione gasped and sat in shock. "What your saying is I will have babies.. forever. And have no control over it."

"Well. No. You see, this is why it was important to know if you have had relations with anyone else... see, submissive drackens are not able to have sexual relations with non-drackens. If they do, their womb shrivels and becomes inhospitable to young. You would never be able to have children. It is... the ultimate birth control in a way."

Hermione stared at the table ahead of her, feeling numb and yet somehow... terrified. "So what you are saying is I _have_ to take a dracken mate and have his young whenever my biology dictates... or I will never have a family."

"Yes Ms. Granger. That's exactly what I am saying."

The tears that had started at the understanding of what Dumbledore said turned to full on sobs at this declaration. Harry moved over to Hermione, wrapping his friend in a hug, allowing her to cry on his chest.

"I'm going to have to stay locked away in a house somewhere having babies forever Harry. I'm never going to be able to make charitable organization. I'm never going to be able to have a job! I'm never going to be able to have a say in my life again!"

"Is there nothing we can do Albus?" The words came from Sirius, and Dumbledore started to be so addressed.

"Do? Why would Ms. Granger want to do anything? I fear I have done you a great wrong Ms. Granger, in how I portrayed submissive life. Yes, some submissives live the life you paint. Bearing young constantly, staying at home, having no say over their life. But Ms. Granger. There is nothing that says this must be _your_ life."

"Oh really?" Hermione snapped, cutting off the headmaster. "Because that's pretty much what it sounded like."

Dumbledore smiled a gentle smile. "I know this is a lot for you Ms. Granger, but there is hope. First off. You need not mate with just any old dracken. In dracken culture, submissives hold a... meeting of sorts. A place where they can get to know their potential mates. Every available dominant male from across the world will arrive to vie for your hand. But the choice will be up to you. No dominant will be allowed to stay if you send them home. I suspect you will be searching for some... particular things in your potential mates." Hermione snorted, nodding harshly. "Second off Ms. Granger. All relationships are determined by the people in it. No one says your relationship has to be anything but what you make of it."

Hermione sniffled into Harry's shoulder, nodding slowly. "Thank you Headmaster. That makes me feel a bit better. Still not good. But better." She sat up and wiped her face with a harsh swipe. "What's the next step?"

Sirius came over to put his arm around Hermiones shoulders. "Now Kitten. You get in contact with the dracken counsel. An unmated submissive _will_ call dominant drackens to her, and trust me, when that happens, you want the counsel there to mediate."

Hermione sighed and nodded forlornly, learning into Sirius' shoulder. "We better get on that then."

Dumbledore piped up before Sirius could say anything else. "I've already contacted them Ms. Granger, they have requested that you choose a time that is convenient for you in the next day to come and meet with them. They also have sent this along with me." The old man picked a book out of his pocket to hand to her.

Hermione, upon seeing it, gave a small chuckle. "I'm afraid they're to late Headmaster. That book is already in our read pile." She pointed out the book on the table. "I'll make a note that it's the one the drackens themselves recommend."

"Why am I not surprised that the Black library contains privileged information about such a... delicate subject?" The twinkle was back in the headmasters eyes as he returned the book to his pocket. "I will let them know. But perhaps now would be a good time to choose when to meet with the counsel?"

After a bit of deliberation, Hermione decided that that same night after dinner would be fine with her. On the condition that Harry and Sirius could join her. "I'm sure they won't have a problem with that Ms. Granger. I will be by around 7 to pick you up. I'll see you soon." With that Dumbledore activated the floo, calling out "Hogwarts, Headmasters office."

"Well that was interesting." Harry said as soon as he left, and Sirius and Hermione each threw a wadded ball of parchment at him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**AN: **The muggle room is a nod to Becoming Lady Malfoy, a wonderful fic about Hermione/Both Malfoys by Miss Fantastic. I recommend it highly!

Thank you to AlaskanAppaloosa, my wonderful and amazing beta!

Don't own Harry Potter, JK Rowling and all her peeps do. I'm just playing with her toys!

* * *

Hermione shook her head at Harry, who now looked slightly abashed. A simple eye roll and smile is all he got from her before she walked to the table of books and grabbed the recommended one.

"Do you guys mind if I read this alone? I suspect... I suspect there will be some things in here that are going to take some time to process."

Harry and Sirius both agreed, though Harry looked quite worried at leaving his friend to deal with this alone. "If you need us at all Kitten, we will be in the muggle room playing Fortnight." Sirius physically dragged Harry out of the room, but Hermione didn't notice. She was already moving deeper in the library to sit on a very comfortable chair and read the book that held the answers to her questions, parchment and pen clutched in her hand to take notes.

The book was bound in dragonhide, and had no other markings on it outside of a small 'D' scrolled in the bottom of the spine. The pages were obviously well-worn, but the book was well cared for.

Flipping it open to the first page, Hermione was a little shocked to see word appear before her eyes. "I wonder if this book is charmed to only be read by drackens.." She wondered out loud to herself.

Hermione took a deep breath before diving into the introduction.

_Hello reader. This book is not meant to be a guide to non-drackens. Instead, it is meant to be a helpful tie to our world for young drackens who find themselves adrift. This book is as accurate and brief as we can feasibly make it, and is written to be quite conversational in nature. Please read this book as thoroughly as possible before your first meeting with the dracken counsel, and we will answer any questions you have as best we can. _

_\- The Dracken Counsel of Europe_

Hermione giggled to herself. "I got a PR package from the dracken counsel. Well, I guess if it does the job..." She flipped open the book to page 1 and started reading.

There wasn't much information in the general physiology part of the book she didn't already know, so she mostly just skimmed through it before moving onto the submissive section.

"_Submissive drackens are typically female, though rarely a male submissive dracken may be found. All submissive drackens are young-bearing. When in their dracken forms, unmated submissive drackens are pure white, but upon mating take on the colors of their dominant(s). Submissive drackens are typically quite small in stature, but are not to be underestimated, as they are fierce fighters. _(Here in the pages, scrawled in the hand written type of what was obviously a Black ancestor, was a note that read "You're telling me. Viscious little bints they are, and I have the scars to prove it!" Hermione got a good laugh there.)

_Submissive drackens carry in their fangs and claws a lethal venom that is an effective weapon against even other drackens. More than once a submissive has killed in defense of her mate or chicks. There are also accounts, though few and far between, of a submissive dracken attacking her mate in defense of her chicks." _

"Well that's cool," Hermione mused to herself. "I'm venomous. Gotta make a note though to not nick Harry or Sirius in my dracken form."

"_Submissive drackens, are by instinct, fierce and protective mothers. They also tend to be attentive and helpful mates, though there have been examples of dominants losing the trust of their submissive, which usually ends in death for the dominant._ _Dominant drackens are typically large, averaging in height from the short at about six feet, one inch, to the quite tall at seven feet, two inches. Dominant dracken wings are most commonly jewel tones, though pastel or mottled feathers are not unheard of. Dominants vie for the attention of submissives through the use of wing displays, and _(Here, the word "displays" had been scratched out and replaced by the same hand as before with "Brutish displays of strength and macho posturing.") Hermiones nose wrinkled as she considered what may be coming for her. "What if I don't care about... wings? Or their ability to beat each other to a pulp?" Hermione made a note about this in her parchment and underlined it to ask the elders.

"_Dominant drackens tend to be quite possessive, and protective of their mates. Instinctively, drackens will shelter and provide for their mates. No slight to her will be allowed, and dominant males have done severe damage to those who even insinuate they would do harm to their mate. Dominant drackens do come in a rare female variant as well, and females share many of the same personality traits. Dominant drackens will, when they feel their submissive has stepped out of line, sometimes physically discipline their submissive." _Hermione didn't even make it through this sentence before she yelped "Over my dead body they will!" A rough snarl broke through her throat, and claws formed at the end of her fingers. It took several deep calming breaths to be able to return to the book.

The text moved on quickly from here, the section on chicks being very small, stating only that dracken chicks were nearly identical to human babies, and in many cases, only the mother knew whether her babies were human or dracken, and often the racial identity of her children was a close family guarded secret, to discourage poachers. Hermione had a sad moment of reflection, wondering what her mother must have been like. She must have been a dracken, and a most likely submissive. Did she go down fighting? Had her parents been in love, or had they come together purely of biological imperative? Did Hermione have any siblings? Or was she from a clutch of only one?

Hermione entirely skipped the section on mating and nesting, completely uninterested. There was nothing pressing about that information right now. The last thing she needed to think about was the details of what was coming.

Instead she skipped right to the section on dracken illegality and safe-haven laws.

"_Drackens are considered, by most European nations, to be illegal dark creatures. As such, drackens are subject to execution upon exposure to authorities in most countries." _Hermione gasped and put the book down, considering what this would mean for her life. As part of the golden trio, Hermione often appeared in the media, and having pieces of her life she kept secret was no mystery to her, but this seemed extreme. That would be a large thing to hide from such scrutiny. She would have to talk with the elders about security measures. She added the note to her growing list.

Unfortunately, that was as deep as Hermione got into the book before the library doors swung open and Harry stepped in, waving slowly. "It's time for dinner! Sirius made your favourite! Steak with more steak and some steak on the side."

Dinner passed with much laughter and ribbing all around. For moment, it seemed that everything was the same and nothing had changed besides Hermione's preferences for the doneness of her steak.

Unfortunately, it wasn't to last. Once they had eaten their fill, the floo once again flared and Dumbledore stepped out of the fireplace. "It's time, my girl."

Hermione took a deep steadying breath before looking to Harry, then back at Dumbledore. "Can I bring Harry with me? I... I am scared. And bringing a friend might... ease things."

Dumbledore debated for a moment before nodding. "The dracken counsel might not particularly like it, but I agree with you. Bring him, but be aware Mr. Potter, the dracken courts are a dangerous place for humans. You may be required to swear a wand oath to keep their secrets."

Harry was already preparing to leave, slipping on his shoes and his outer cloak. "No offense Sir, but I wouldn't care if they were gonna draw and quarter me then stitch me back together again. I'm staying with Hermione if she says she needs me. She's my best friend, and Merlin knows she's always been there for me." Hermione gave her friend a shaky smile and might have had some tears she had to wipe away. Harry was her brother in every way that mattered, so she wasn't surprised by the sentiment. She would have felt the exact same way if their situations were reversed.

Dumbledore nodded sagely "I had assumed that was the case, but a warning is still prudent."

Hermione gave Sirius a quick hug before she left, whispering in his ear as she wrapped her arms around him. "If we aren't back within 6 hours, or I haven't sent my patronus, assume we've been captured and need rescuing. You know what to do." Long ago Sirius had put tracking charms on Harry that could be activated at any time and were tied into Harry's magical core, so wards and blocking spells couldn't stop him finding Harry. When the war was at its zenith Sirius, at Harry's request, had extended that spell to include Hermione.

Sirius gave a barely perceptible nod in her hair before releasing her. "I'll see you before bed and we can talk about what you've learned today. Be aware the dracken counsel may try pretty hard to put you under a protective guard. They're looking out for you, but you have the right to keep your life private."

"I'll be careful." Hermione acknowledged, walking back to Harry to entwine her hand with his. Taking another deep breath, she looked up at Dumbledore. "I'm ready. Let's go."

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he motioned to the fireplace. "We will travel to the Dracken Counsel Halls through the floo network. You and Harry will go first. The address is 'Dracken Counsel Hall Visitors Entrance'. Yes, I know it's a mouth full. I've already had words about it with them. They say it's a security precaution." Dumbledore rolled his eyes and Hermione and Harry laughed at the clearly exasperated elderly wizard.

Calling out the floo address, Harry and Hermione disappeared with a puff of purple smoke. The room they stepped out into was glorious, huge and stately without being cold. Decorative mouldings adorned the cathedral ceilings, and the furniture that was artfully placed around the room was all varying shades of cream, gold, and white. The chairs that squatted around the roaring fireplace were oversized and looked incredibly comfortable. "_This is the kind of place I'd want to curl up a read a book in._" Hermione thought as she peered around.

Harry seemed just as stunned by the opulent room, but as soon as he caught sight of the welcoming party coming to meet them he nudged Hermione. "Someone's coming."

Hermione whipped herself around to view the oncoming crowd. Two men and three women walked towards them, all dressed in ceremonial black robes that bore a embroidered dragon on the front in gold thread. One of the men looked very upset to be there, but the rest seemed very relaxed, and one of the women looked like she might burst out of her skin, she was so happy.

Harry stepped in front of Hermione when the group drew near, inserting his shoulder over hers in a well-practiced move. If the drackens were going to be a threat, the two would fight their way out. But the group stopped a respectful distance away, and one of the women spoke up.

"Hello Ms. Granger and... I suppose you must be Mr. Potter, correct? Welcome to the Dracken Counsel Halls. I'm Elder Clara Duboise, and these are the other elders on the Dracken counsel." Hermione didn't catch any of their names because she was busy examining the elder that the counsel had set as their speaker. She had long brown hair, dark and straight that ran clear down to her thighs, and her eyes were a bright blue that reminded Hermione of the ocean on a warm day. She was quite tall, but was rounded and soft in a way that reminded Hermione of Molly Weasley in a way. By the time Hermione was done her examination, the last elder, the smiling woman, was introduced as "Sarah Duram."

The little redhead with wild curly hair like Hermione's own gave her a small wave under the disapproving glare of the scowly man whose name Hermione had missed.

"Thank you for having me here." Hermione said clearly, reaching her hand out to shake Clara's hand.

Clara took a step back, looking down at Hermione's hand with a smile. "My dear, even a simple touch with an unmated dominant could set off a bonding. You never know who is mated and who is not, so it's better to not touch at all." The words were said with such tenderness that Hermione felt her face heat as she flushed and dropped her hand.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend." Hermione said, a bit cowed.

"Oh no, my dear! You have had no instruction in our customs! You have no need to apologize. I would just hate to have you find yourself in a mating that you didn't want." Clara's smile was genuine, and she clearly was enraptured with this young woman who had such a reputation in the wizarding world of having formidable intelligence , yet stepped into this new world with little to no knowledge. "Please, we would like to talk to you further. Your friend is welcome of course, though he will have to take a wand oath to not share our secrets." Harry nodded, already reaching for his wand before she continued, "We would like to show you around the hall, give you a small tourl and perhaps answer any questions you have, are you open to that?"

Hermione nodded as one of the male elders secured Harry's wand oath. "Yes, I would like that very much." Reaching into her jeans pocket, Hermione pulled out her note paper filled with questions. "I came prepared."

Clara clucked, "Why am I not surprised the brightest witch of her age came with her thoughts prepared?" Guiding Hermione past the ornate desk where a young man sat to receive visitors into a long hallway, Clara started the tour.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**A/N: **Thank you so much to my amazing beta AlaskanAppaloosa! 3

I don't own Harry Potter, JK Rowling and all her peeps do. I'm just playing with her toys!

Clara explained that the Dracken Counsel Hall was put together in a circle, with a large gathering room in the middle. "We hold yearly gatherings for drackens and their mates to meet and socialize, and once you get us all in one room, you need quite a bit of space!" Hermione and Harry were shown the elder's meeting room, the offices, and the safe rooms for submissives if their dominant was found to be abusive. Hermione was especially interested in these, and how drackens governed themselves.

"Well, in general the elder counsel, which you see before you, has judiciary control over all registered drackens. When a dominant is found to be abusive and unrepentant and the bond between the pair cannot be healed... the dominant is executed." Hermione gasped and Harry flinched before Clara turned to them and smiled weakly. "It seems an extreme measure to you I assume?" When both nodded, she explained more fully. "Drackens mate for life. As long as the dominant survived, the submissive would be forced by instinct to go back to him. Risking herself and her children's lives, with no real choice over it. So as a mercy to the submissive, we put down the dominant as humanely as possible. The submissive is then free to pick another dominant who is more suited to her. All drackens are aware of this the moment they come into their inheritance. Speaking of which. When was your seventeenth birthday?"

"Oh. It's not for another couple weeks." With a sharp gasp every person in the group except Harry whipped around to look at her, shock on their faces.

"What do you mean you haven't reached 17 yet?" Clara said, her voice deathly calm, but her eyes betraying just how terrified she was.

Hermione gulped and looked to Harry for reassurance before answering "My birthday has not come, but I reached my inheritance only this morning."

Whispers spread through the group before with a slashing motion of her hand Clara cut them all off. "Hermione. There are very, very few instances of a dracken inheritance emerging before the child turns 17. In fact, so few that I have personally never seen one in my life time and I have lived over 100 years."

Hermione shared another look with Harry before shrugging and saying, "Why does it matter?"

"Because young lady," The grumpy-looking man spoke up, "The dracken inheritance only comes forward early in incredibly powerful drackens. Or. There is a potion. A horrible potion that is used to force young drackens to come into their inheritance early. It's illegal and its ingredients are very regulated in most European countries. It's a dark potion made with the stolen scales of one of our kind. It's often used by poachers to force young drackens they have kidnapped into their inheritance early. You can understand why we would be... worried."

Hermione considered this for a moment before responding. "I have ingested no potions, and I check every meal I eat and everything I drink... But I did use a time turner in my third year?"

"That has the potential to have caused the changes we have seen when combined with a strong magical signature. It's wise of you to check your food for potions. I understand you were quite involved in the war effort. Your inheritance must have been quite a shock."

Hermione nodded before simply asking, "What did Professor Dumbledore tell you about my... inheritance?"

This time Sarah answered "He told us that he had a young dracken submissive who had been born to muggle-born parents and that you were... in need of guidance."

"Well, that's part of the truth I suppose. I was raised in a muggle orphanage that has a high percentage of magical girls that go missing when they turn seventeen. I was told to come home on my seventeenth birthday for a going-away party. Harry's guardian, Sirius Black, suggested that this was a front for poachers and that if I had gone home... I would have never come back."

Hermione had been looking at the ground when she made her statement, so she couldn't see the group turn first to pale white, then to burning red. She didn't see the hands clenching or tears welling in the eyes of the submissives in the group. When Hermione looked up at the group, she saw one man walking off, clearly furious, and Clara with her fists clutched to her chest while others looked to be in a murderous rage.

"Did I... say something wrong?"

With a snarl, Clara motioned the group including the two teenagers into an office nearby, moving them out of the way of anyone who might overhear.

"Wrong, my dear? No. Not you. What you described. An orphanage, posing as a front for dracken poachers. You have to understand Hermione. Drackens protect our children with the fierceness of our ancient ancestors, the dragons themselves. Our young are our contribution to the world, the purest form of hope and joy we have. To know that under our noses our young have been stolen and raised for the slaughter..." Clara took a steadying breath. "You will give us all the information you have about your orphanage. And we will do a full investigation. Please know. There will be no quarter given if your suspicions are correct. Child killers get no mercy from us."

At this Sarah snarled and rammed her fist through the wall, tearing into the sheet rock. None of the drackens seemed surprised, but Harry and Hermione were more than a little confused.

"You'll have to forgive Sarah. A long time ago her sister, along with her chicks and mate, were stolen by poachers. We recovered... the remains of her sister and the mate... but the children were lost. This is a very sensitive topic for her."

Pity washed over Hermione. She understood family being missing, understood what it was like to long for answers that might never be given. "I'm so sorry for your loss." The words were whispered to Sarah alone, and the woman pulled away from the wall with a grimace. But she said nothing as she whipped away, her curls bouncing in her wake.

"She'll be back. She just needs a minute." One of the other men spoke up, a dark-skinned man with a tall stocky build.

"That's Bart. He's her dominant." The words came from Clara, who, like the others in the room, was beginning to collect herself again. "Ok. Today is not the day to talk about this. We will obtain all the information we can about your orphanage from your headmaster. The dracken counsel will take care of things from there. You may be called in as a witness in their trial."

Bart scoffed, visibly getting irritated. "Trial. Monsters like that don't deserve trials."

The grumpy man glared at Bart before stating, "We have already talked about this. Let it go Bart." Bart grumbled, but stayed quiet.

Clara took another deep breath before indicating they should continue the tour. They saw a few more rooms and Sarah rejoined them, making her apologies for her temper before retiring into the elder's meeting room.

"Ok Hermione, we know you have questions, lay them on us." Clara was obviously amused as she watched Hermione pulled out her notepaper.

"In what countries are we considered illegal, and what happens if we are caught or outed?"

Bart was the one who answered, "You're not pulling punches today huh? Well, we're illegal in every European country except Bulgaria, Germany, and Russia. There are a handful of African countries where we are legal, and Canada doesn't care if we're there as long as we don't make trouble. If you are found out here in England... you are executed, as are your mates. Your children will be spared, but will be extradited to a country where drackens are legal."

Hermione and Harry were both very shaken by this. The prospect of living her life in fear was a heavy one. It seemed that the dracken community was well-organized though so...

"What protections are there in place both legally and physically for drackens in the UK? How can I guarantee I will be safe here?"

The grumpy man answered this time. "The dracken counsel is... adept at hiding our presence from the wizarding world, and we provide services for drackens who feel they might have been outed, including relocation services." Hermione took a moment to think about this. She had personally never heard about drackens before this, and it hadn't seemed like Harry had known anything about it either, so it was obviously a well-protected secret.

"Why are we considered dark?"

This one took some thinking on the part of Sarah. "I think it's because we... have strong instincts. If our children or mate is harmed, drackens can do significant damage to those around them, often retaliating to an extreme measure. Most countries would rather not have to deal with the... strain on the legal process large communities of drackens can sometimes provide."

Hermione nodded in understanding before asking the question that had been burning in her mind for the entire day. "Tell me about the process of choosing my mate."

For this Clara piped up again. "Mates, Ms. Granger. You will require more than one mate. How many is yet unknown, but it will definitely be more than one." Hermione reeled at this news, holding up her hand for a moment of pause. More than one mate? Two or perhaps three men to deal with? This was... unexpected.

With a shaky breath she motioned for Clara to continue, and with an understanding smile, she did. "In the next few days, you will begin emitting pheromones, if you haven't already. These pheromones will reach every unmated dominant dracken in the world within the next week or so. They will all be drawn to you like a moth to flame. In ages past, dominants would fight to the death for the right to forcibly mate with a submissive. Now.. we are more civilized." When Clara paused to take a drink of water, Bart continued for her.

"We will hold you a mating meeting starting quite soon; we would prefer tomorrow, but we understand that that might be a bit much for you. During this meeting, you will be able to interview the dominants. Your word will be law. If you choose to send a dominant home, they will go home. When you find a dominant you connect with, you will be able to create a mating bond."

Harry held up a hand "Just one dominant? You just said she will have to pick more than one..."

"Yes, just one. Submissives pick mates one at a time, and go through one heat with their chosen mate before their magic decides whether or not they need another mate to conceive. In addition, some submissives require a grounding mate, someone to help keep their magic under control. I suspect Ms. Granger will be such a person."

Hermione at this point was getting quite hysterical, but she managed to remain calm enough to ask "Conceive? You're saying that I will know I have enough mates when I _conceive?_"

The drackens at the table seemed quite confused by this. "You don't want to have children?" Such a thing was nearly unthinkable. Every submissive wanted children, often as many as they could. It was a biological imperitive!

Hermione shook her head, "No, I want children, just not _now_. I'm only seventeen! I want to..." At this point she started actively hyperventilating. Harry moved behind her chair, rubbing her shoulders and massaging her back. Quiet shushing sounds left his lips, calming Hermione without even thinking about it. The drackens at the table were quite confused about the interactions between the two, but most held their tongues.

Most. The grumpy man spoke up. "I'm sorry Ms. Granger, but I can't help but notice you're... interactions with Mr. Potter. Are you pure? Or have you shrivelled your womb inside you?"

Hermione gasped and stood with a snarl "How dare you? How dare you even ask such a personal question. How dare you think that I would... with my _brother?_ How..." Hermione turned and ran from the room, Harry hot on her heels. He had been expecting this for awhile now. His pseudo-sister had only two modes when she was upset. Asking all the questions, and processing. And when she processed, she liked to be alone.

Hermione scrambled into the floo, grabbing some powder and Harry's hand before throwing it down and screaming "Grimmauld place!" And with a swirl of purple smoke, they were gone, leaving a very confused dracken counsel behind.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**A/N: **Thank you to AlaskanAppaloosa, my fantastic beta who makes all this possible!

Don't own Harry Potter, JK Rowling and all her peeps do. I'm just playing with her toys!

* * *

Sirius wasn't surprised to see Harry and Hermione bolt out of the fireplace. What he was surprised by was Hermione grabbing his hand and dragging both Harry and himself to the library. After she had forced them both into big comfy green chairs, the pacing started. She was silent for about ten minutes, pacing, back and forth along the hardwood floors.

Sirius was just getting ready to ask her what she was thinking when Hermione finally broke the silence. "Tomorrow. They want me to start mating meetings tomorrow. And if I don't? Dominant drackens are going to hunt me down and force me to mate with them. I'm expected to have babies right away. My life is over and I'm going to be forever condemned to staying at home and living as a baby machine to some misogynistic jerk who doesn't know how to read!"

At this last exclamation, both Harry and Sirius laughed.

"Kitten, as if you would ever choose someone who didn't read as your mate. Remember, you get a say here. Yes, you are gonna have children sooner than you thought, but I imagine if you choose the right mates, you could still work and one of them would take on the bulk of parenting duties. Nothing says you have to stay home."

At this point Harry piped up, "Who knows, you might marry some fabulously wealthy man who lets you spend all his money on your pet causes."

"There's the bright side Kitten! You might get to be loaded!" Hermione was trying to contain her laughter and failing. It bordered on hysterical, but it was laughter all the same.

"Only you two would look at this situation and see 'You know what? Let's use this. Get all the money.' It's ridiculous."

Harry and Sirius shared a grin, but kept silent as Hermione once again had started pacing. It wasn't as long into the silence this time before she filled it. "I need to make a list. Everything I want in a mate. In my life. My non-negotiables. Otherwise sheer biology might have me getting there and just picking the first man with pretty wings. I can't do that."

Harry looked quite relieved at this announcement. "There. There's my friend back. I was starting to get worried, 'Mione! What can I do to help? How about a whiteboard? With colored markers? Lots of different colors. We can categorize things by color. I know you love categorizing."

Hermione laughed at her friend's enthusiasm. He didn't even wait for her to confirm or deny his thoughts, just marched off to go get it, leaving her and Sirius alone in the large library.

"You're honestly taking this better than I thought you would when I saw those wings."

An indelicate snort was all Hermione deigned to give as a response. Sirius gave her a cheeky smile. "You have to admit Kitten. You're not the best with change."

Hermione grudgingly admitted as such before her curiosity reared its head again. "Tell me about your dracken friend, please."

The silence stretched on for several long moments, but just as she was about to rescind her question, Sirius started to speak.

"His name was Frank. He was one of my best mates in school. What they don't tell you in those books Kitten? There are five dominants for every one submissive in the dracken world. So lots of dominants choose to take human mates, and Frank was one of those. Rather than wait for a dracken submissive, he found a human girl, Alice, who he loved very much. They settled down and had a son, and then they were tortured to insanity in the first war."

With a small gasp, Hermione's hand whipped up to cover her mouth. "Neville. Neville was their child."

Sirius nodded solemnly. "Before you ask? I don't know. I don't know if he's a dracken. I was never party to that information. But here's what I do know. Frank and Alice loved that boy. More than any parents I had ever seen. It killed Frank every time he had to leave to go to a submissive meeting, and he prayed to be sent home. You see, if the submissive had chosen Frank, he would have no choice, he would have had to leave Alice and little Neville. But it never happened, and then the Lestrange bitch tortured them both so much that their minds broke. Frank fought like hell though. If you took a good look? Bellatrix had a limp. Frank damn near took her leg off fighting to keep Alice safe. It wasn't enough though..." Sirius' voice slowly faded off, his face falling into a sad, pensive frown.

Hermione stepped up to give Sirius a big hug. "I'm so glad Molly killed that bitch. She deserved to die. I'm so sorry Sirius."

Sirius shook his head, returning her hug, holding her a little longer than might be considered appropriate by someone who didn't know just how close the two were. "You did nothing wrong. It's just bittersweet, thinking about Frank and Alice. They died so young, but they loved each other and they loved their son. That's a good life if ever I have heard one."

With a bang Harry threw open the heavy wooden doors to the library, startling Hermione and Sirius out of their embrace. "I have them! Ten different colors of dry erase markers, three dry erase boards, two erasers, and a crap ton of chocolate. 'Cause it seemed like that kinda day."

Both Hermione and Sirius shook their heads at him, helping grab some of the supplies.

"You know Harry, you are a wizard. You could have shrunk this." Hermione flicked her wand and the dry erase boards hung themselves into the air, arranging themselves neatly in a line. With another small tap the pens lined up beside them, organized by color of the rainbow.

Harry shrugged and threw the others each a chocolate bar, tearing into his as soon as he was finished tossing. "I don't think about things like that. Plus, I started in a muggle store! I can't very well strink things and make them weightless there now can I? No. No I can't." He looked so much like a bird with its feathers ruffled that Hermione and Sirius nearly fell over laughing, imitating his puffed up offended look to one another. With a smiling scowl he waved them off, grabbing a green marker and tossing it quite hard at Sirius' head. The marker pegged Sirius straight in the forehead, which had Harry and Hermione rolling on the floor with laughter, making them easy targets for Sirius' thrown pillows from the chairs. That's all it took for a full on projectile war to start, and by the end they had all laughed themselves hoarse and Hermione felt ten times better.

"Thank you boys. I needed that." The words would have been more meaningful if they weren't muffled by the pillow Sirius had thrown over her while Harry sat on her legs. Turns out they viewed using the _Oppugno _spell as 'cheating'. Hermione disagreed. Vehemently.

"How do you guys feel about take-out? Indian? Chinese?" Sirius scrambled out of the pile of crumpled up papers Hermione had thrown at him, his hair a crazy mess, but a big grin splitting his face.

Harry's face shot into the air from where he sat on Hermiones legs. "I want Chinese! I'm vetoing Indian, none of us need heartburn tonight." Hermione nodded, fully agreeing. Sirius seemed a little put out, Indian was his favourite, but he understood. Last time after they had had take out from his favourite restaurant, between them Harry and Hermione had gone through almost an entire bottle of tums. It had been worth it... but maybe not tonight.

"Ok, I'll be back with the regulars, you kids better get this mess cleaned up before I get back!" With that Sirius left the room, whistling to himself.

"That butt. He left us his mess to clean up too!" Harry was properly offended again, sending Hermione into another fit of giggles.

"Well, he is going to get the food." She countered, wiggling her bum so Harry fell off onto the floor.

"Don't take his side!" Harry squawked as he stood from his new spot on the floor. The cleaning started with a few flicks of Harry's wand, the pillows righting themselves, the papers finding their way into the trash bin, and the chair they accidentally knocked over righting itself and dusting itself off.

Hermione stood and righted the dry erase boards from where they had dropped on the floor after Sirius had ineffectively used them as a shield. "Ok. I should get started on this." She supposed she could spell the pens to write as she thought, but there was something cathartic about writing the points down in her own script. Instead she charmed the boards to move the writing around based on color, and gave each pen a number. One was red and represented her absolute deal breakers, and the negative scale continued to green at which was apathy, then became the positive scale at blue and violet with things she most wanted to see in her mate.

The random colors of black, pink, and a strange poo green Harry called 'sage' became her pens to take other notes in.

"I can add a few things to this right away." Harry grabbed the purple marker and put _'Must be ok with maintaining friendships with Harry and Sirius.'_

Hermione laughed "Oh Harry. There is no way I would take a mate who wasn't ok with you two goof balls." With a flourish she added in her violet pen _'Able to cook'_. Anyone who knew Hermione knew that while she was a whiz at potions, cooking didn't come as easily to her. Baking on the other hand, she could do baking.

Harry added the next one, once again in the red pen _'Wants a stay at home wife and mother_'. "Not that you wouldn't make a good one Hermione, but we both know you'd go stir crazy if all you did was take care of babies."

Hermione nodded, adding _'Loves kids'_ to her side in the violet."If I'm gonna have loads of babies, I want to be sure I'm with someone who is going to love them as much as I will."

The list went on and on, getting about 15 traits deep before Sirius showed up with the Chinese. He examined the board as Hermione and Harry dug in the brown paper bag, pulling out Hermione's chicken with mixed vegetables, Harry's general tso's chicken, and Sirius' szechuan beef. They settled down in a pile on the floor, regularly sharing and stealing each others food, talking over the list.

"This is a pretty good list, kids. But you missed one." Both Harry and Hermione were puzzled before with a cheeky grin Sirius grabbed the violet pen and wrote _'Dracken'_ on the board. Both Hermione and Harry were unimpressed with his seemingly no-brainer move. "No Kitten. Let's be honest, you don't have to marry a dracken. You can run. Have wild crazy sex with a human, make sure you can't have kids. Hide and live your life as a muggle."

Before Sirius had gotten the words out of his mouth Hermione was already violently shaking her head. "No. We all know that's not a possibility. I couldn't give up my magic. And sure, I might be scared about having kids right this moment, but that doesn't mean I don't ever want any, you know?"

A soft smile graced Sirius' face. "Yes. I know. I just think that right now you needed to realize it."

Hermione glared at him, but secretly appreciated his gesture. She stood and gave Sirius a quick hug. "Thanks, you butt head."

"You're welcome fart breath."

The floo flared, and a head popped up through the grate. Hermione sighed to see Clara's knowing eyes peeking out through the embers. "Ms. Granger, I'm sorry. But it's getting late and we must know. Are you open for mate meetings tomorrow?" Clara seemed almost hesitant, but she needn't have worried.

With a deep sigh and a nod Hermione resigned herself to the inevitable. "I have some qualifications for my mate. I'll be bringing a list. I expect lists of all the prospective mates, if they have human families, and their jobs, tomorrow. Go ahead and tell everyone the meetings will be at the Dracken Counsel Halls. I'm ready. Oh. And Harry and Sirius are coming with me for the first day at least. That's non-negotiable. "


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**A/N: **Thank you so much to my amazing beta AlaskanAppaloosa!

I don't own Harry Potter, JK Rowling and all her peeps do. I'm just playing with her toys!

Thank you so much to each of you who left reviews, or talked to me in the Granger Enchanted Survivors facebook group! It's SO encouraging to know that you guys are enjoying this story! Reviews make it so much easier to write, and I know you must hear this all the time in authors notes, but it's true!

I'm gonna address some things found in those reviews!

First off! We haven't forgotten the orphanage, I _promise_.

Second off! Mates will be revealed slowly. So painfully slowly. Hold tight! It's coming!

* * *

Hermione woke the next morning to the sun burning her eyes. With a moan she pulled the covers over her head. Sirius and Harry had decided after the call from Clara to start a wizarding chess game, which had inevitably devolved into insult throwing and lots of chocolate eating. They had stayed up far too late and when they finally hit the bed, they had all hit it together, snuggling into one another for warmth and comfort.

Unfortunately, they still had to wake, and Sirius had taken it upon himself to get them up. First by opening the curtains and letting the light into the dark room, and then by jumping up and down on the bed screaming "Get up get up! We've gotta go find Hermione a man! Harry, we need to work on our intimidating glares together! Let's go, pup! We gotta get them perfect!"

Harry groaned and sat up, poking Hermione, who only hissed in response. With an evil giggle Harry used his cold feet to push her onto the floor, and she fell with a small scream.

"Harry James Potter!" She yelled after him, but he was already gone, headed towards the kitchen to fill his bottomless pit of a stomach. Sirius laughed and helped her untangle herself from the pile of blankets.

"You chose him as your friend Kitten. Just remember that. You chose this."

Hermione grumbled and moved towards her bedroom. "I've gotta get dressed. What do you suggest for attracting a mate?"

Sirius gave an evil grin "A house elf hanky." He ducked and run as Hermione threw a slap at him.

She shook her head as she threw open the doors to her room. The closet Sirius had magically put in there was filled with clothes. Harry had somehow found out her size over the last school year, and had started buying her clothing whenever he could, despite her protests. It seemed that living in Dudley's hand-me-downs had given him a bit of a complex, Harry had to know that if he had the resources, his friends would be outfitted properly. Unfortunately, his version of 'properly' was much different than hers. But for the first time, Hermione was glad of it.

Her closet was filled out with clothes of all kinds. Hermione swore that Harry took pleasure in seeing just how frustrated she got every time she came to Grimmauld and found more clothes in the closet.

"_What do you wear to meet someone you might have to spend the rest of your life with?"_ Immediately she discarded the idea of a dress. No need to give them any easy access to the more delicate parts of her body. Taking another sweeping look around her closet, Hermione ended up grabbing a fitted pair of beige slacks, her favourite black tank top, and a navy blue blazer. She was fairly casual and comfortable, but professional enough that she felt the males may keep a respectful distance.

Her hands raised to twist her hair into a braid as she walked to the kitchen. Sirius and Harry barely even acknowledged her entrance, so interested were they in the toaster waffles that one of them had rustled up. Hermione's nose wrinkled in distaste at the waffles, but Sirius was already ahead of her and was setting down some sausages down in front of her.

Harry pointedly looked away as she ate her breakfast. She gracefully ignored it. If he wanted her to leave he would tell her. Very little conversation happened over breakfast. They all were very much still trying to wake up after their late night. But, by the time everyone was done eating and the dishes were put away, everyone felt more awake.

Apparently, just before Hermione had come downstairs, the dracken counsel had left a message that she was expected at 11 am, which is when her security team would come to the house and meet her. Hermione was a bit torn about how she felt about the security team. The need for one was frustrating, but she appreciated the extra safety, especially with her human male friends there. Sirius and Harry were for their own species, well built and strong men, but drackens were stronger than a normal human and it would be awful if her friends got hurt because of her want for them to be there with her.

It was now 10:50, so it was time to get ready. Harry and Sirius were already dressed in street clothes, and all Hermione had left was her shoes. She grabbed a sensible pair of navy flats just as the floo flared and her security team stepped out.

Relief poured over her as she recognized Bart. Sure, she'd only met him once but at least it was a slightly familiar face. Two other men stepped out of the floo behind him, introducing themselves as Thadeus and Armand. Everyone in the group shook hands before Bart spoke up.

"Ok Hermione. Here's the deal. Thads, Armand, and I will be watching you all day. If anyone touches you in a way you don't like, just throw up two fingers. We'll deal with them immediately. If at any time you decide you don't want someone there, just let us know and we will remove them no questions asked. If anyone tries to pressure you in a way that makes you uncomfortable, let us know. Again, this is all about you and you are completely in charge."

Hermione nodded in understanding. "Thank you all of you. I... can imagine that with creatures as passionate as drackens, meetings like this can get quite intense." The men chuckled and nodded, indicating it was their pleasure and privilege. "My friends are coming with me. Please protect them as well, they're human and I'd be very upset if they got hurt..." The men all nodded again, appearing slightly offended that she felt they had to be told.

"Ok Kitten. You ready to go?" Sirius was the one who asked, resting a hand on her shoulder.

"Yes. Let's go." Grabbing Harry and Sirius' hands, she followed Bart into the floo. A flare of purple smoke and they stepped out into the meeting hall.

Whatever she was expecting, this wasn't it.

The main hall was filled with males of all shapes and sizes. Some were in their dracken forms with their wings trailing behind them, but others were in their human forms. That wasn't surprising. What was surprising was that when she stepped out of the floo, every head whipped around to stare at her.

It felt... uncomfortable to have so many men watching her. Panic rose in her and without thinking, she dropped Harry and Sirius' hands and shifted to her dracken form. Pure white wings burst from her back, ripping through her blazer. She fought to regain control through her panic, but in the end it was Harry who really helped.

"Hermione. It's ok. Just embrace it. Of all the places to just walk around in your dracken form... this is it. Let go, Hermione. It's ok."

A couple of deep breaths and Hermione nodded, her head calming. When she reopened her eyes, she was shocked to find that her security team was standing, wings flared, between her and the crowd of men. "Are you ok Hermione?" Bart asked through his emerald green wings.

She nodded slowly, "Yes, I am fine. Thank you. Is it ok if I stay in this form?"

Bart snorted out a laugh. "Darling, I can say with some confidence every man here will love that."

"Ok. Then I'm ready. You guys can back down." The men's wings came down as Hermione was removing the pieces of her tattered blazer from her wings, revealing the tank top beneath it. When she dared to look out at the crowd, there were many leering looks and a few curious ones. Setting her shoulders back and taking Harry and Sirius' hands, she moved forward through the crowd. There were a few mumbled growls when the men saw the joined hands, but no one dared say anything.

The security team guided her into the large meeting room, keeping a good distance between her and the crowd, but still allowing the males to see her and her to see them. Her quick eyes scanned the crowd, noting the near blinding combination of colours. Green wings, red wings, blue wings, purple wings, name it and you could see it. There were a few other, more unique wings as well. Wings that looked like autumn leaves, or wings that reminded her of waves breaking on a lake shore. The males came in every age, from very old to barely of age to have reached their inheritance. There were a few men that stood out, some in a good way, and some in a not so great one. Many of them were strutting around with their wings flared out and chests thrust forward, generally inconveniencing everyone around them. Hermione took note of a couple of the worst offenders and vowed to send them home. On the other hand, she noted one striking male with black wings who leaning against the wall and generally kept to himself. His carriage was such that you could tell he had a good amount of confidence, but wasn't making a nuisance of himself.

By the time they got to the main hall, Hermione had a list of ten or so males she already wanted sent home. When she told this to Bart, he was unsurprised. He handed Hermione the list that she had asked for the day before. "Give me a second. We're gonna gather all the men together so you can address them, and then you do any large send-homes you want to do, or point out specific men you want to go."

Hermione was confused. "Large send-homes?"

Bart looked a bit uncomfortable. "Some submissives send home all dominants over the age of 50. Some send-home all those males with wing lengths shorter than 8 feet. Some send home dominants with more dull wing colors..."

Outrage, pure and simple, poured through Hermione. "Well. That won't be happening. The only large send home I will be doing is those who already have human families." Sirius looked happy at this, no doubt remembering Frank and his dread at being forced to leave Alice.

The males in her security team seemed surprised at this, but Hermione wasn't shifting from that position.

"Please gather in the main meeting hall." Came over the speaker system in the hall, but the announcement was mostly unneeded, as most of the males had followed her into the room.

"Hermione has chosen to send home those who have families already. If you are in a committed relationship with any human female, please leave now." A good portion of the older crowd that had stayed near the back of the hall left, most seeming quite relieved to go home so early in the meeting.

"There are also a few men that Hermione will now point out, who are also being asked to leave." Hermione stepped forward and picked out the ten males who had made her frustrated. More than one seemed quite upset, one even going so far as to yell out "You can't do that! I'm the most beautiful male here!"

Hermione and Harry laughed, because he surely was. His wings were lovely, a mix of greens and blues that looked like still lake water. But his attitude was the most ugly thing about him. He looked down his nose at all the other men, flaring his wings out and smacking those around him. "He's an idiot." Hermione whispered in Harry's ear as the security team removed the man. Harry nodded with a wide-eyed look.

"Let's hope they're not all like that. You gotta mate some of these!" He whispered back, staring over the crowd.

Hermione nodded, giving Harry a side eye. "How do you suggest we get to know these guys? There's so many of them!"

For this, Sirius had an idea. "I think Frank said something about some submissives holding interviews? If you do that, you can have a timer with each man, and get a feel for how they are. They keep a list, right? You can use that to keep track, and then call some of them back for a second round of interviews later?"

Hermione was already nodding by the time he got to interviews. "Yes, I want to do that. Bart? Can you make that happen?" Bart said of course he could, and cleared the men from the hall. Most went respectfully, but Hermione had to send two more unruly males home, to much eye rolling from Harry and Sirius.

The list Hermione asked for the night before came out, and she steeled herself for the start of the interview process by getting her pens out, settling herself, Harry, and Sirius into the comfy grey chairs Bart and the others provided for them.

"Let's begin."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8 **

**A/N: **Thank you so much to my amazing beta AlaskanAppaloosa! 3

I don't own Harry Potter, JK Rowling and all her peeps do. I'm just playing with her toys!

Hermione browsed the list while she waited for the first man to come into the room. It had taken all of

six seconds to decide to start at the top of the list alphabetically.

The first dominant came in, and within seconds Hermione wanted him gone. He didn't bother to ask her name, didn't bother to ask what she was interested in, or why she had two other males with her even.. he just launched into a rant about him and his accomplishments, all the while flashing his purple wings at her. When his five minutes was up, Hermione breathed a sigh of relief and put a large black line through his name on the list.

Sirius made a joke that they couldn't all be that bad right?

He was wrong.

By the time they got to 'C' ,Hermione wanted to rip her eyes out. Not a single one was worth looking at twice. At least twenty dominants had come and gone, and she was losing hope that a single one would even ask her her name, let alone anything else about her life.

Finally, an older man came in. He was unassuming, coming into the room in his human form. His long black hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and his full beard was well groomed. He wore a simple white polo shirt and jeans, and Hermione immediately liked how he walked in. He didn't strut, he didn't swagger. He just... walked. Which apparently was a rarity around here!

He stopped in front of the chairs where she and her friends sat, and gave a small bow. "Hello. I am Ernesto Calum. It's a pleasure to meet you Ms..."

"Granger. It's lovely to meet you Ernesto, please meet my friends Harry, and Sirius." Both Harry and Sirius shook Ernesto's hands, but Hermione did not, having been forewarned to not touch any of the dominants skin to skin for the risk of creating a bond she didn't want.

"It's wonderful you could bring your friends with you for this. I'm sure it's a lot of information all at once. Did you grow up in a dracken family?"

Hermione was thrilled to finally be asked a question about herself by one of her suitors. "No, I actually grew up in an orphanage, I had no idea that I was a dracken until the day my inheritance showed up."

Ernesto looked properly shocked by this. "I'm so sorry, that must have been quite intense. I remember my first transformation. It was terrifying, and I knew it was coming. I can't imagine what it would have been like without preparation."

Hermione nodded, her wings fluttering a bit behind her at the memory of the stress. "Yes, it really was, but Sirius here had a friend who was a dracken, so he recognized what I was before I tore down the entire house in my panic." Ernesto chuckled and thanked Sirius for preserving the lovely submissive before him.

"Please Ernesto, tell me about yourself."

"I'm 35 years old. I am an accounts manager at Gringotts, and I live in muggle London in a flat that mostly contains only what I need to survive. I enjoy reading, hiking, and my guilty pleasure is long bubble baths."

Hermione chuckled at this. "I enjoy those things as well. Thank you for your honesty."

A peek at the clock told her there wasn't much time left in his interview. "Is there anything else you would like to tell or show me before this interview draws to a close?"

Ernesto looked a bit confused. "Most submissives would like to see my bank statements, and my wings. Would you?" Hermione considered it for a moment before nodding, and Ernesto passed over a very well organized folder. She barely looked at it except to note that he made enough money to support a very large family, and that his organization skills matched her own.

When she looked up, Ernesto had removed his shirt to free his wings, and Hermione, for the first time since coming into the building, took a good hard look.

Ernesto was quite fit, but then, so were most of the other dominants. His wings were a modest twelve feet long, but were a lovely amethyst colour that shifted slightly into lavender when he moved. Hermione nodded and smiled, sure that he wanted some sort of reaction. "Thank you so much for coming today, you are the first of all the dominants to ask about me at all, and the first to get a pass into round two. Thank you. You have given me faith in this whole process."

Ernesto scowled, but obviously not at her. "Stupid young males. No woman wants to speak only of you. She wants to know you are interested in her too! How can you know that you want her if you don't ask?" He was clearly frustrated, and it made Hermione's heart quite glad. "Thank you Hermione for letting me speak to you. It was truly my pleasure." He bowed once again before leaving the room.

Hermione turned to Harry and Sirius and sighed. "Well it's about time. Goodness." They both nodded, as stunned as she. Ernesto got a check on the list, and his pass into round two, then unfortunately, they had to move on.

The next male to come in had to walk sideways through the door because he refused to put his large yellow wings down even long enough to get through the doorway. Hermione sat through his five minute rant about himself before politely dismissing him with a sigh. "Another one bites the dust."

Sirius got tired of sitting for the next one, and moved around to the back of the room, standing behind the next male to come in. He was young, barely nineteen, but very full of himself, as it seemed they all were. As he ranted and raved about himself and his grand accomplishments, Hermione had to use all her self control to just not laugh. Sirius stood behind him and puffed his chest out, made his hands into talking mouths that never stopped, and generally made a mockery of the man. More than one cough-covered laugh was heard from Harry and the security team, but every time the man turned around, Sirius was just standing quietly, observing him. When he finally left, those left behind burst into hard laughter.

"I should be upset with you Sirius Black, but you just made this whole process so much easier." Hermione gasped between giggles.

"I live to please." With an overly dramatic bow, Sirius returned to his seat while the security team let in the next male.

At this point, they started blurring together for Hermione. One puffed-out chest and self-aggrandizing rant was the same as another, and all she had to tell them apart was the list she held. By the time they got to 'L', Hermione was losing hope that there was another decent dominant dracken out there for her to even talk to, let alone mate with, when a familiar face opened the door. It didn't take long for Hermione to place the easy smile on his face.

"Neville. I can't believe it's you!"


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**A/N: **Thank you to AlaskanAppaloosa, my fantastic beta who makes all this possible!

I don't own Harry Potter, JK Rowling and all her peeps do. I'm just playing with her toys!

"Hello Hermione! You're not the only one who was shocked! The last person I expected to see at a meeting like this was you." Neville gave Harry a hug and Sirius a respectful, if a little wary handshake. Sirius had pranked Neville quite badly the year before and their relationship still hadn't quite recovered yet.

"Well, I wasn't exactly prepared for it myself." Hermione stated sardonically. "I had no idea that I was a dracken. Imagine my surprise when I woke up one morning and had wings, scales, and claws."

Neville paled slightly at this. "I'm so sorry Hermione! I prepared for weeks for my inheritance. I can't imagine how terrifying that must have been for you."

Hermione nodded slowly "It really was. Please tell me about yourself Neville, how on earth did you manage to keep a dracken inheritance hidden during school?"

Neville chuckled, and proceeded to explain how his birthday had hit only a few days before on July 30, which thankfully had put his transformation during summer break, so he had had some time to get used to things. But Hermione was barely listening if she was being honest with herself. Instead she was examining him quite closely.

It was appealing to have a mate whom she knew, and last year Hermione was one of many girls who had noticed just how well Neville had filled out into his body frame. Granted, she had never thought of him as a romantic partner before, but looking back, that might have been because Neville kept himself very clear of forming bonds too deep with any of the girls in school. _Well, I suppose that makes sense if you know that you're going to have to find a dracken mate. Better to keep yourself far away and not risk your heart being broken._

Hermione tuned back in just in time to hear Neville answer Sirius that his father was doing ok, thank you. Still in St. Mungo's, but not getting any worse at the moment.

"Oh! I forgot! You're Frank and Alice's son!" Hermione gasped the words out, "Sirius told me... about my inheritance, because your dad told him! I owe you a thank you!"

Neville smiled indulgently at her "No thanks needed, I'm sure my dad would have said the same. It's an honor to be a help to a submissive in need. So tell me. How has your summer been?"

Conversation continued in an easy way for the entire five minutes, focusing around what they both had been doing for the summer break, and Hermione put a check next to Neville's name on her list. "Is there anything else you want to show me?"

Neville sighed and his hand came up to rub the back of his neck. "Yeah. My dracken is virtually screaming at me to show you my wings and to tell you that I have a sizable inheritance from my parents. I'm well able to care for any children you may have, and I know that... the transition from friend to lover might be a hard one, but I'd be an idiot if I didn't tell you I've been fascinated by you since fourth year."

Hermione was more than a little stunned to hear this. "You gave no clues!"

"Oh I know. That was kinda the point. I had to marry a submissive. I didn't want my heart broken." Neville shrugged out of his shirt and let his wings free. Deep garnet scales faded into thick feathers, and Hermione resisted the urge to run her hands along them. Neville was slightly self-conscious. "I know that they're not as large as some of the others, but I'm only eighteen, I still have some growing to do.."

Hermione held up a hand to stop him. "Your wings are lovely, Neville. I love that color. Gryffindor proud." They shared a goofy smile before the next male could be heard on the other side of the door complaining about how he had to wait.

Neville grimaced and shrugged. "Well, I guess that's my cue. It was lovely to see you Hermione, and... just know, that for me, this wouldn't be a hard transition. I could easily see myself falling head over heels for you, and I could see you doing the same for me." As he walked off, Hermione pondered mating with him. It would be easy. Simple. He had always been a close friend, so she felt that transition would be seamless. She put a small check next to his name on the list before calling in the next suitors.

What followed was an exhausting fifteen minutes with yet another posturing male who refused to talk to her, but rather talked at her. By the time he left, Hermione was relieved and feeling a bit down-trodden. "Is Neville seriously going to be my only good choice?" She mourned to Harry while waiting for the next man to come in. "I have to take at least two mates, but if I have to take any of these men..."

Harry nodded and rubbed her back, "It's ok 'Mione, there's gotta be someone else out there. You're only at M..."

Hermione sighed as the next men came in. Wait. Men? Sure enough, two men came through the door. Their wings were striking, solid gold and silver, perfect compliments to one another. Her dracken preened when looking at them, clearly drawn to the near metallic nature of them. Both of the men had white blonde hair, though the silver male had his cut quite short while the gold male's was quite long...

When Hermione saw the faces though, that's where things became dicey.

"Draco? Lucius? _Malfoys? _Really?" With a snort and a giggle Hermione turned to Harry. "It figures. The biggest blood purists in our world... are magical beasts under it all." Both of the Malfoys had turned traitor against Voldemort near the end of the war, but it was hard to shake the idea that they had just turned when it seemed the flow of the war was no longer going their way. Hermione had been... skeptical at best.

Both Lucius and Draco seemed offended for a moment before Lucius stepped forward to introduce himself, bending into a deep bow. "I don't believe we have ever truly been formally introduced, Ms. Granger."

As Draco followed suit, Hermione watched them warily, trying to ignore Harry and Sirius' hands on their wands, and just how tense they were.

"Perhaps not. It's... a shock to meet you, to be honest." It was comical to see Lucius' and Draco's faces bend into matching smirks at her comment.

It was Draco who responded though. "Yes. I'd imagine it is. Most people assumed we were supporting Voldemort for his pure blood ideals. But rather, we were supporting for his stance on 'dark creatures', at least originally. The idea of living without fear of being executed was... heady. By the time we realized we were supporting a crazed megalomaniac... it was too late. We turned to the Order as soon as we felt it was viable to protect our family... but unfortunately the damage to our reputation was already done."

Lucius nodded at Draco's explanation before adding, "We just ask that you give us a fair shot, Ms. Granger. Nothing more."

Hermione pondered the two with narrowed eyes before nodding definitively. "Fine. But know that you have a longer way to go than others." Both Harry and Sirius were visibly upset by this, but Hermione was determined to ignore them. Bigotry had started the war, and maintained it. It would be ridiculous of her to pass it onto them and just start the problem in the other direction.

Both Malfoys seemed relieved at this, "Of course." Said Lucius, settling into the chair across from her. His posture was best described as impeccable. He seemed to be quite relaxed, with his legs crossed, but just couldn't bring himself to slouch at all. Draco on the other hand, sat in the other chair in a much more relaxed manner.

"Please tell me about yourself, Lucius. You have obviously had a wife before, so how did you end up at this meeting?" Narcissa had been killed by the Dark Lord late in the war as retribution for Draco and Lucius' defection.

Thankfully he didn't seem upset by the question. "Narcissa was human, so I was still very much drawn to submissive meetings while she was alive, but chose to leave as soon as I could. I was happy with my wife, she was a fantastic homemaker and loved our son fiercely. Unfortunately, bearing a dracken child was very hard on her body, and she was unable to have other children after Draco. But, when she passed, my dracken was very keen on hopefully finding a submissive I could be with. You must understand Ms. Granger, as far as drackens go, I am quite young. Drackens regularly live two to three hundred years, and so my forty-five is but a drop in the bucket compared to what is to come."

Hermione took some time to digest this. Somehow no one had told her about drackens extended life spans. But when compared with three hundred years...

"Yes, I suppose that would be. Tell me about your interests." 

Lucius smiled and nodded, "Of course. I run the Malfoy business, which takes up a great deal of my time, but is not what I would consider an 'interest'. In my spare time I keep my extensive green houses well cared for, I grow specialty potion ingredients for a friend of mine. And, with the help of my librarian, I collect and maintain an extensive collection of rare and interesting books. I suppose those things would count as my interests, but I also like fine dining and all things sumptuous."

"Rare books? Librarian? You have a large enough library in your home you require a librarian?"

"I told you that is what she would latch onto, Father." Said Draco drolly, smiling down at Hermione. "Yes. We have an extensive library that would be yours if you should choose to become Lady Malfoy and mate with either of us."

Hermione had almost forgotten Draco was there. "Oh yes, Draco. Please tell me about your interests."

"Unfortunately, I'm not quite up the standard father is in this area. I enjoy making potions and will be starting an apprenticeship this year with Master Cho from China, which will put me away most of the next four years. But my time since the war has mostly been spent carousing with friends and rebuilding friendships that had suffered during the.. messiness."

"It sounds like you are going to be very busy for the next several years, do you feel yourself in a position where you could take a submissive and a family on?" Harry asked the question Hermione was thinking before she could herself.

Draco glared at Harry for a moment, seeming disgruntled to have to talk to her friend rather than her before answering honestly. "No. No I don't. And while my dracken is sitting here screaming in my head about how much of an idiot I am being... I actually am here to ask to be excused. My current standing just doesn't leave time for the type of time a submissive and children would take. But, I would like to throw my hat behind my father so to speak. He is a fantastic father and husband, and was, while she was alive, a worthy mate to my mother."

Lucius seemed shocked by this announcement. "Draco, we talked about thi-" But Draco cut him off with a raised hand.

"No Father, she deserves better than I can give her right now, and you can certainly provide that. She should know that." Draco was clearly taking no other answer for this.

"Of course you may be excused, Draco. I will... take into consideration what you have said about your father. Thank you both for coming to see me today. Unfortunately, our time is up, but please know that Lucius, you have made it into the next round of interviews."

The older man seemed equal parts relieved, thrilled, and upset by this announcement, but both Malfoys left without a fuss, offering quiet thank yous. The look Lucius had for Draco though promised there would be words shared in private over what he had done.

As soon as they left Hermione whipped around the Harry and Sirius. "Ok, was that... intense to anyone else?" Both Harry and Sirius nodded, but it was Harry who spoke up, though it was clear his petty side was killing him for it.

"Their defection was clear Hermione, they did their best to help with the time they had. I say give them a fair shot."

Sirius' glare was less gracious. "They're a bunch of pompous asses, Kitten. Always have been. But. If you like him... I guess I will get over myself. Just don't expect me to become all buddy-buddy with him. Not happening."

Hermione hugged both men, whispering a thank you into Sirius' ear, before calling in the next applicant.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10 **

**A/N: **Thank you to AlaskanAppaloosa, my fantastic beta who makes all this possible!

I don't own Harry Potter, JK Rowling and all her peeps do. I'm just playing with her toys!

I'm going to address some of the reviews here. I just can't PM everyone, there are so many! Thank you all for your amazing reviews! I LOVE reading every one. It makes my entire day.

**Bibbity88** \- Bahahahaha, I do love how you neatly excised Draco from the running though.

**Susieone 1** \- But I don't think I like her taking Lucius without Draco. There's just something about that trio!

LOL Thanks. Later in the fic you'll learn why it was necessary.

**MandoraKat** \- that was too short! it needs more Neville asap! haha. hope you write more soon.

My chapters are usually between 1500-2600 words, and I update every two days or so. This seems to work well for my beta and I. So there will always be an update soon!

* * *

Hermione wished that after the Malfoys, things would start looking up. But they really didn't. More and more she resorted to dismissing men early, until she got to 'P'. At that point, Hermione threw up her hands and said "Stop. Just. Stop. Just... Bring in Neville."

The man in question seemed quite confused to be brought back in. "Hermione, are things ok?" Neville seemed concerned more than anything else.

What no one was expecting was for Hermione to duck around the security team and touch her hand to Neville's shoulder. "You. I choose you. I'm done with this. I want comfortable and safe. I want you."

She wasn't sure what she was expecting... but it certainly wasn't... nothing. There was no spark. No feeling of belonging. Both Hermione and Neville turned in confusion to the security team. Bart met their gazes and said aloud, "Is something wrong?"

Both Hermione and Neville glanced at one another before turning back to Bart. "There's nothing." Said Neville. "No need to protect her. No bond. My dracken is... ignoring her. Sure. She's there, and I love her... but... nothing. Certainly no mating bond."

"I feel the same." Whispered Hermione, while Bart turned sharply to speak with the others from the security team.

"Stay here please. Invite in no other suitors." The instructions came from Armand, as Bart was already going through the private floo. The next fifteen minutes were tense, with no one quite understanding what was happening. Hermione had retreated to Harry's comforting arms, confused and hurt. Was she defective? Why did Neville's dracken not want her?

When the floo flared again, Hermione started, having been buried quite deep in her own self-doubt. Through the fire place came Sarah, Clara, and the grumpy man again. Both Harry and Sirius became noticeably more tense upon seeing the man come through. "Who spit in his bean curd?" Sirius stage-whispered to the duo, which brought on near-silent giggles from them both.

Sarah was the first to approach Hermione. "Hello, love! It seems we're having some troubles here, hmm? There are only a few very specific circumstances where a mating bond wouldn't start between two unattached adult drackens. One is very easy to test for, the others... not so much. So we're going to try the easy-to-test-for one first, ok?" Hermione nodded fearfully, her hands tensing on Harry's arms.

"What do we have to do?" This came from Neville, who had been equally tense during the waiting period.

"Oh it's quite simple really. Just a potion for each of you, and then a spell! Gerard here," At this, Sarah motioned to the grumpy man, "Is our resident potions maker, and he has brought the required doses."

"Thank you, Sir." Both Hermione and Neville whispered as Gerard handed them small bottles filled with a iridescent blue potion.

"Drink them back completely, and then we will cast the spell." Gerard seemed somehow upset at giving them his treasures, but Hermione resolved in her mind to ignore him, as it seemed nothing made this man happy. She examined the potion for a moment, looking for a hint of what it was before sighing and swallowing it. _They probably aren't trying to kill me. They need submissives alive in order to grow their race... _There were no immediate effects that Hermione could discern, which was comforting at least. Neville seemed to be less skeptical of the potion, swallowing it down without even a glance into the bottle.

A few heartbeats later, Gerard raised his wand. _"Familia Revelio." _Hermione gasped as both her and Neville glowed a bright white for a moment, before the light faded, leaving a solid blue line running between them. "Interesting." Gerard noted before turning to Clara. "You'd best get Augusta. She's going to want to know."

Clara was already headed to the floo. Hermione and Neville were quite confused, "What does this mean?" Hermione demanded of Bart, who turned smiling eyes to her.

"Wait one moment darlin'. You'll want to see this all play out, I swear it."

Several tense moments later, Augusta Longbottom stepped from the floo, and as soon as she did, bright yellow lines passed from her to both Neville and Hermione. At this point, Hermiones brain was starting to put things together, and she spoke into the silent room. "He's my brother. That's why I can't make a bond with him. He's my... brother, and Mrs. Longbottom. She's my grandmother."

The shocked silence hung in the room for a moment before Neville's suddenly hard and startlingly angry voice cut through the silence. "Explain yourself."

Augusta flinched at her grandson's words, but her eyes hadn't left Hermione. "I'm so sorry. You have to understand. I thought... I thought you were dead."

Neville growled and stalked over to his grandmother. "Explain. Yourself. Now." His eyes flashed a dangerous black, but he kept his clawed hands away from the woman. He tore his pants in more than one place in his effort to keep himself under control.

For the first time since she entered the room, Augusta met her grandsons gaze. "You were born a twin. You and your sister Naomi were the light of your parent's lives. Alice and Frank were so proud of you, their little drackens. You were only fourteen months when _they_ came." Augustas eyes went distant as she relived that night. "The Death Eaters broke down the door, and Frank yelled for Alice and I to take you and run. We had a plan, you see. We had had a plan for quite some time. I would take you. Alice would take Naomi. We would run to the safe house in the back of the yard, where we would floo to Hogwarts. Your mother was right behind me with Naomi, I swear she was... but when I arrived at Hogwarts... Alice and Naomi didn't follow. I don't know what happened. The baby was never recovered. I assumed..." Here she took a deep shaking breath, clearly disturbed. "I assumed that Bellatrix had taken the child. She was known for her... predilection towards extremely dark arts. I assumed Naomi had been slaughtered in a dark ritual." Augusta turned fearful eyes towards Hermione this time, raising her hands to implore her. "I'm not dracken, you see. I had no way to know if you were alive. I had no... recourse. My son and his wife, were gone. Lost in their minds protecting their family. I was alone with Neville, and you.. you were gone."

Hermione just stared. So many feelings overwhelmed her. Joy, sadness, regret, wonder, anger, fear... Neville was struggling in his own right, but he had more questions. "Why didn't you _tell me?_" He whispered angrily, his glowering eyes boring into his grandmother's.

"Tell you what? That you had a twin, but she was gone, sacrificed to a dark ritual? No. It was better you didn't know. Better you grew up missing only two people rather than three. Better you not spend your life fruitlessly searching for someone we knew was gone."

At this Neville snarled and grabbed his grandmother by the shoulders, lightly shaking her. "Not. Gone. Grandmother. Missing. There is a big difference between gone and missing. How could you?" With a snarl he threw his hands in the air, clearly wishing he could throw his grandmother with them. "Leave. Don't come back until I can control myself, or I won't be at fault for any harm that comes to you."

Augusta scrambled to leave, throwing a wistful glance back at Hermione. "When you're ready..." Hermione nodded and motioned her to leave. The floo flared purple and her attention turned fully to her newly-found brother.

Making her way over to him slowly, she made herself as small as possible in her dracken form. Currently Neville was panting and clearly struggling with controlling himself.

"What can I do to help?" Hermione whispered, concern flowing thick in her voice.

"Forgive me." Was Neville's response, and Hermione smiled a sad smile.

"I forgave you a long time ago. I'm just glad I found you. I missed you." Neville choked on a sob and tackled his sister into a hug that she returned wholeheartedly.

The mood was broken though when Sirius piped up. "What the hell! How on Merlin's green earth did Frank have another child and I didn't know! God damn it Frank, of all the secrets to keep!"


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11 **

**A/N: **Thank you so much to my amazing beta AlaskanAppaloosa! I couldn't do this without you!

I don't own Harry Potter, JK Rowling and all her peeps do. I'm just playing with her toys!

Thank you all for the amazing reviews! I'm so glad the plot twist blew your minds!

Don't worry, Hermione and Co. will be mending bridges with Augusta! Sorry to those who were cheering for Neville as a mate, I kept trying to write him as one and he just kept being like "Nope! I wanna be the brother character!"

Susie, I am SO happy I can make your hatred for WIP's fade. Also, I think I know who you are now? We've talked in the granger enchanted group!

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The dracken counsel took this moment to close down Hermione's interview room, citing the need for privacy. There was a general uproar behind the doors from the dominants, but Bart and Armand enforced the blockade with brutal efficiency. It only took two dominants getting knocked out before the crowd backed down, but the energy in the room was restless.

Clara and the other dracken counsel members watched on, more than a little baffled as Hermione, Sirius, Harry, and Neville talked over one another frantically. The cacophonous banter was interspersed with moments of laughter and many more hugs than she had personally seen most people give. It took about twenty minutes of the crazy talking before some of it started to make sense to anyone outside of the small group.

It seemed that for the majority of the time, Hermione had been filling Neville in on what she believed about her orphanage after he had asked what her home life was like growing up, with Harry and Sirius piping in whenever necessary. Neville, for his part, had remained quite calm right up until Hermione noted that she was fairly certain her orphanage was a front for poachers.

It looked like Neville was going to completely lose it at that point. He started shaking, his claws gouging deep into his thighs, his accelerated healing fixing it so he could do it again. Harry and Sirius watched on in a bit of shock, but Gerard stepped forward and spoke directly to Neville.

"We've already started an investigation. Not a magical one. A dracken one." Neville visibly started to calm at this. "You know what that means. Good, good. There are four drackens assigned to this particular case. They are poring over every piece of paper, tracking down every girl, and going through every shred of evidence. There is also an extensive investigation going on at the male 'brother orphanage' of this one. If there is anything there... we will find it."

Gerards face twisted into a brutal and sadistic sneer as he and Neville locked eyes. "And if we find they have wronged us, we will dispense justice. They will beg for mercy and we will show no quarter." Both Harry and Sirius blanched a bit at this, but Neville and Hermione grinned, baring sharp and cruel teeth.

For a moment, pure, unadulterated blood lust flowed through Hermione's veins. Her body sang with the intensity of it. In the next blink though, she was overcome by confusion. This wasn't normal. No one should be happy thinking about ripping another person to pieces... Gerard happened to catch her confused glance just as Hermione pulled away.

"Don't. Don't run from it. Talk it out." He stated, standing tall again and looking down at her.

Hermione bit her lip and wrapped her arms around herself, confusion marring her face. "It's wrong to feel like this. I could rip them apart. We don't even know if they did it. And I could happily rip them to shreds for what they are maybe doing. Without mercy. I could rip them to pieces, revelling in their screams. I can nearly taste how the rush would feel." A chill shook her frame at the idea, but it wasn't in horror, but rather in pleasure.

Gerard and Neville both nodded solemnly, and she could see the other drackens in the room do the same. "This is part of our nature, child. We are creatures of fire and passion. Our ancient ancestors are known for their ability to be fierce guards, especially of their young. That same instinct runs through our veins. We will rend and tear at anything that threatens what is ours. We do not apologize for our nature. We hunt. We kill. We are also tender and loving parents and mates. Our children are our legacy. You should be enraged at what these people have done. Use that. Use the rage to make your blood sing. Fight for what is yours to protect."

Throughout the speech, the drackens in the room had been getting tense, and a low hum of growls started. By the time Gerard was done, the hum had grown into a deep roar that reverberated in the veins of everyone in the room and was met by the dominants outside. A bone-shaking confirmation that drackens were united in this purpose, the protection of what was theirs.

Harry and Sirius, as the only humans present, were more than a bit shaken by the roaring growl. But Hermione? For Hermione it was solidifying. A forging of her soul in ember and flame. A reminder that she would be different, but that difference didn't have to be a problem. She could be fiercely protective and brutal, but also loving and caring and intelligent.

When the roar died down, Sirius turned to Harry and whispered what he thought was loud enough for only Harry to hear. "She's gonna fit in so well here. That brutal side of herself will be in its heyday here."

Hermione squawked and whipped around to growl at Sirius. "Brutal side? I don't have a brutal side! Also, your whispering isn't as quiet as you think."

Harry grinned a cheeky grin at this. "Really? No brutal side? What about Marietta?"

"She betrayed us!" Hermione grumbled defensively.

"Skeeter and the jar?"

"She wouldn't leave you alone!" She was looking more and more like a baby chick with her feathers fluffed out, and Sirius was struggling to control his laughter.

"Uh-huh... and what about Umbridge and the centaurs?"

At this Hermione's eyes glinted with ruthless joy. "She deserved that and you know it."

"Oh we don't debate that, Kitten." Sirius piped in, "But you definitely have a brutal streak. Justice has always been something you are willing to enforce, even if you had to... bend the law a bit to make it happen." Neville and Harry were nodding along, and Gerard was looking curious and slightly admiring.

"Fine. Whatever. Maybe I am a bit brutal. But they deserved it!"

"Yes Hermione." The three men murmured softly, which seemed to appease her very ruffled feathers.

Hermione jumped a bit when the door swung open a bit and Bart popped his head in. "Hey guys? Things are getting a bit tense out here. Perhaps we could save the family gathering for later? Hermione, I know things are tense for you right now, but the dominants are demanding to see you and ensure you are ok. The call got their blood pumping, and I'm not sure that it's wise for us to put them off about this."

A sigh left Hermione, but she rose and went to the door, stepping out and waving to the crowd of dominants outside. "I'm fine everyone. Some family business came up unexpectedly. Thank you all for your concern." Many of the dominants yelled out over the crowd asking for more details, and whether the meeting would be continuing that day, several complaining about how it wasn't fair they hadn't seen her yet.

Hermione held up a hand for silence, which reluctantly fell over the group. "I will be continuing the meeting today, but I'm not certain if I will be able to see all of you. I'm sorry. Please be patient. Thank you." With this she slipped back into the room, ignoring the rest of the hollering for her attention.

With a sardonic smile at Harry and Sirius she huffed as the door closed. "Goodness. It's like dealing with children. 'But I want it now!'" The whiny voice left her and more than one chuckle was heard throughout the room. Her eyes drifted to Neville and softened.

"I'm so sorry. I'm going to have to continue the meeting today. Please, would you come to our place for dinner tonight? I'd love a chance to talk to my brother." A soft smile played at her face when Neville walked over to give her a bear hug.

"And I my sister. It's ok, I was just about to leave anyways. I need to make sure that grandmother is ok... I think I'm in enough control now." Neville's face showed just how doubtful he was of this, but also his humour about it. "If I kill her though and get arrested, I love you. Don't get stuck with a jerk. Give 'em hell." Hermione snickered and smacked him lightly.

"Don't do anything stupid. I'll see you later. Sirius will make sure you can get into the floo at Grimmauld. Say eight?" Another quick hug was shared between the long lost siblings before Neville confirmed that worked for him, then waving his goodbyes to everyone else, left through the floo.

Hermione steeled herself for the next step by walking to Sirius and Harry and asking for a hug. Without a single qualm, both men wrapped her in a bear hug between them, being careful to avoid her wings. She had told them just how sensitive they were, an neither were willing to put Hermione in a situation where she would have to warn them off or make her uncomfortable.

Sirius whispered into the group hug, "Kitten, you don't have to do this. This has been a crazy day. You can walk. This can wait." But almost as he started to talk Hermione was shaking her head, rearing back to look at both of the men.

"I need to do this. Every day I'm not mated I put both of you and myself in danger. This is just the first round. I'll make you guys a deal though." Hermione peeked at the clock hanging on the wall, seeing that it read 4:30. Strange, it seemed later in the day, but then again... she had been sending most males home very quickly. "We'll leave by 6:30." Both men nodded their assent, and released their friend, who sat in the chair provided for her by the counsel as she motioned for Bart to let in the next suitor.

The puffed-up popinjay didn't even make it a full minute in her room before Hermione spat for him to leave her and not come back. He spent the entirety of that minute ranting to her about how _dare_ she keep him waiting so long.

Bart seemed to take extra special joy in throwing the man out of the room forcibly. Sirius and Harry waved their fingers condescendingly at the dominant as he squawked at being so handled, the former even throwing kisses for good measure. Hermione laughed brightly at their ridiculous antics, which the next dominant coming in lit up at.

"What a lovely laugh."

Hermione took a deep breath and then turned to look at the next man, this time she was pleasantly surprised to see someone in their human form.

"Thank goodness. If I see one more stupid male flash their wings at me like it's something to preen over, I was going to scream." The man chuckled and ran his hand across his thick blonde beard.

"It's been a long day for you I take it?" His blue-grey eyes crinkled around the edges at his smile, and Hermione was struck with the impression that he smiled often.

"Very." Hermione sighed, plopping down in the chair, trying very hard not to pout.

The man's smile only grew as he transfigured a nearby chair to a ottoman with a wave of his wand. He knelt down and tucked it under her feet, being sure not to touch her bare skin at any time. "I'm sorry you have to be subjected to this. It must make you feel much like a piece of meat. I heard earlier that you had to lock down the room for family business, is everything ok?"

Hermione smiled kindly down at him, murmuring a thank you to him before speaking more clearly, "Yes, everything is fine now. Thank you for asking. It's very kind. Why don't you tell me a bit about yourself?"

The man straightened to his full height before taking a few steps back from her and bowing slightly. "I am Abraham Sloan, but most people call me Abe. It's a pleasure to meet you Ms. Granger." As he straightened, his hands came up to straighten his shoulder-length dirty blonde hair.

"Please, call me Hermione."

"Very well, Hermione. Well, what should I tell you? I like to consider myself pretty down-to-earth. I'm a meat and potatoes, practical kinda man. I love to work hard, then come home to a home full of kids and family. I'm from two dracken parents, so I have a very large family. I have forty siblings, and they have... a lot of children between them. The house is crazy when the family all gets together, and I love every minute. I've always envisioned that for my life."

Hermione ignored the choking sounds coming from Sirius and Harry at the numbers, and her face split into a grin at this idea. Her dracken preened, clearly letting it be known she liked this one. "That sounds amazing, Abe. I am an orphan and grew up in a group home, so to me that sounds like pure heaven."

Abe's grin echoed her own, "It does doesn't it? What are your interests, Hermione? What do you want your life to look like after this whole debacle of trying to find your mate?"

"Mates." Hermione corrected gently, "Any man who mates with me will have to be ok with the fact that the dracken counsel is fairly convinced I will need at least two mates, but potentially three or even four..."

Abe looked a bit shocked by this at first before his eyes darkened to a storm tossed ocean blue. "You're very powerful then. That's... good to know." Sirius snickered and jabbed Harry's ribs at the obvious lust in the man's eyes.

Hermione felt her face heat with a flush before she continued. "Yes. Yes I am. As for what I would like my life to look like after this? If I had a way of making sure everything went perfectly? I would love to sit on the board of a charitable foundation working for orphaned children or disenfranchised creatures. Or perhaps I would work at the ministry part-time. I can't see myself staying home all the time caring for children, but I would like to have six or forty." At this Harry and Sirius once again snorted back giggles. "I realize that being pregnant often might make working hard, but I would still like to try. I want a house filled with laughter and love. I want my children to never be hungry or alone. I want to find mates I can love until the day I die. So, I suppose I just want a normal, big family life."

Abe had relaxed significantly as she stated her wishes, and by the end he was nodding along. "That sounds like a fantastic life. I truly hope you get all your desires."

"Thank you. What do you do for a living Abe?"

"I run a large corporate farming business that my father started. We help small farmers come together and barter with larger retailers as well. It's my pride and joy."

Hermione was sad when Harry poked her and told her that the time they were alloted to Abe was up. "Thank you Abe. You've made it to the second round of interviews. It was lovely to meet you." As Abe turned to leave with another bow, Hermione suddenly spoke out. "Wait. Please. Can I... see your wings?"

"I thought you'd never ask, Angel..." Abe's wings sprouted from his back as scales spread over his face and most of his body. Hermione's breath hitched as she looked at them. They were _huge_, which wasn't the most stunning part of them. No, the stunning part was the colour. A bright gold at the tips towards his head, slowly fading to a soft brown, then a soft white at the tips, the wings looked like ripe wheat fields. As Abe fluttered them softly, Hermione was struck by the memory of the rare trips taken to the country as a child, watching the wind blow the wheat, seas of gold and clear skies.

"Thank you. I'll be seeing you soon."

Abe left graciously, his wings shrinking back into his back.

Harry leaned over to Hermione and whispered in her ear, "I like that one. He seemed... normal. We haven't seen many normal people today." Hermione nodded in agreement as she waved in the next dominant.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

**A/N: **Thank you so much to my amazing beta AlaskanAppaloosa! 3

I don't own Harry Potter, JK Rowling and all her peeps do. I'm just playing with her toys!

* * *

Hermione struggled not to coo as the next dominant walked into the room. It was the dark man who had been leaning against the wall earlier, and on closer examination, his wings were much more than black. They were opalescent, the light hitting each feather individually and casting a dark rainbow over them. From a distance, the wings looked black, but up close were truly stunning, an oil slick on dark pavement. Once she got to his face though, Hermione blanched a bit, and understood the strain coming from Sirius and Harry.

It was Severus Snape.

She swallowed heavily before motioning him to sit across from her, eyeing him warily.

"Trust me Ms. Granger, I was just as shocked to find that the submissive was you." Snape drawled at her, drawing a small smile from Hermione's face.

"Please. We're here to discuss spending the rest of our lives together. I think it might be time to dispense with formalities, don't you think so, Professor?"

"Indeed... Hermione. Please, call me Severus."

"Thank you... Severus." The name felt weird on her tongue, but Hermione figured she could probably get used to it.

Sirius could no longer contain himself though as he piped up. "Kitten. You can't give this... scum a shot. He's... he's the greasy git!"

Hermione whipped around with a snarl to Sirius. "We've had this argument already Sirius Black, and don't 'Kitten' me when you are insulting one of the heroes of our age! Without him and his intel, we would have _all_ died. I would be _honoured_ to be mated to the man who put his life on the line everyday so we could win the war. If you cannot put aside childish boyhood arguments, then shut your stubborn mouth and trust me to make my own decisions!"

Sirius visibly shrunk under her ire, and Harry stepped between the two, holding up his hands. "Ok. That's enough from the two of you. We know you disagree on this. You're both entitled to your opinion. What you are not entitled to is potentially ruining someone elses happiness because you don't like someone." With this Harry gave a pointed look to Sirius, "Or to make your friend feel like crap because they hold an opinion you don't like." This time the look was given to Hermione. "Now. Hug and make up, then Hermione can get back to her meeting with Professor Snape here."

With a slightly grudging look that promised they would talk about this later, Hermione and Sirius apologized to one another and shared a quick hug.

Severus had watched the entire exchange with mild confusion before he commented on the exchange. "So I take it if I get you, I get them too?"

Hermione growled a bit, "Yes, and if you don't like it, walk. Now."

Severus smirked a bit before throwing his hands into the air in a mock surrender. "I'm fine with the dastardly duo. I just am unsure if I would ever really be safe in my home if we mated and they were involved."

Harry piped up this time, "If Hermione chooses you, I will personally guarantee your safety from anyone associated with me and mine."

Both Sirius and Severus seemed shocked by this revelation. "Protection from 'the Saviour of the Wizarding world'. That's high praise indeed. Whatever did I do to deserve this?"

"It's not what you did. Though she's right. You did save us all. I mean, standard disclaimers apply, you hurt her and I will kill you dead. But. She's a big girl. She's gonna make her own choices, and if it comes down to accepting you or losing my sister? That choice is easy, as easy as breathing."

"Awwwwee Harrrryyy..." Hermione brushed away a stray tear. "I love you too." Sirius huffed, sitting down and crossing his arms over his chest. At least he was silent.

Hermione and Harry returned to their seats, Harry sprawling in a deceivingly carefree way, while Hermione sat gingerly, crossing her legs. "So Severus. Now that the dogs are chained again..." This got a laughing cough from Harry, and a grudging smile from Sirius, "Tell me about yourself. I suppose I know you're very much involved with potions making, I've been watching your articles show up in Potions Quarterly this last year... But what else is there to you?"

Severus wandlessly summoned a cup of tea from across the room, sipping it as he spoke. "Yes, I do enjoy potions very much. Much of my time lately has been taken up with that, but I have quite a bit of time since I resigned from teaching at Hogwarts. My order of Merlin provides more than enough funds to live on, let alone what I bring in from royalties on my patents." It wasn't said boastfully, just factually. Hermione liked that quite a bit. He was confident, but not arrogant.

"In my spare time I'm an avid reader, mostly non-fiction, but every once in awhile a good fiction book catches my attention as well. Most of my spare time is taken up with that, but I'm also close friends with Lucius and Draco, and so I like to spend a fair bit of time in their presence as well."

"I met Lucius earlier today, he didn't mention anything about you." Hermione said with a frown.

"That's because I wasn't sure whether I was going to actually throw my name in. For the last several mating meetings, I have stayed only until the urge to stay faded, and then left." A glance at Hermiones confused face was all it took for him to elucidate, "If mate meetings are bad and objectifying for you, I guarantee they are just as bad for dominants. Many submissives who are born into dracken families, grow up their entire life spoiled and selfish, and bring that selfish nature to mating meetings. Also, I have proven long ago I have no tolerance for dunderheads. I require a mate who can meet me on an intellectual level. So far, none of the submissives I have met meet this requirement, excluding yourself."

Hermione was more than a bit flattered by this. "Thank you, I consider that high praise indeed. I have one question though. You have made your... dislike of children very clear. Frankly, I was surprised you survived as a teacher as long as you did. We're drackens, and I'm going to need more than one mate, that means lots of children. Are you prepared for that?"

Severus sneered at her for a moment before answering. "I have never once said I don't like children. I don't like dumb children. Any children of yours are genetically predisposed to being intelligent. I will happily be a parent to those children. At Hogwarts more than half the children were of average intelligence, and many more than half couldn't be bothered to put a modicum of effort into one of the most dangerous magical arts, and surely the most dangerous class at Hogwarts. You'd be frustrated too if your job was keeping them alive."

"I'm more than happy with that answer. I understand intolerance for other's lack of even basic work ethic or intelligence." Hermione remembered her frustration with Ron, especially at his inability to put effort into his school work. "Yes. I completely understand."

Severus nodded once before adding a question of his own. "What do you want, Hermione? It would be a shame to see your mind go to waste."

Hermione explained her ambitions and hopes to him, getting quite excited, waving her arms and going into greater detail than she had with any other suitor. Snape offering several insightful suggestions, and Hermione was very disappointed when Bart poked his head in and said that they had gone more than double over their allotted time and if they wanted to stay on track for the day, they had to get a move on.

At this, Severus stood and bowed shallowly to Hermione. "Thank you very much for your time and consideration, Hermione. It was a pleasure to get to speak with you."

"No, thank you, Severus. It was wonderful. Please note, you've made it onto the list for the next round of interviews. I would very much like if you would come again."

"It would be my pleasure." Severus said as he left the room with a small wave to Sirius and Harry.

After two fantastic interviews back to back, Hermione was feeling quite excited for the next dominant to come in. Her disappointment was palpable when the next man came in. He was beautiful. His wings were large, and a lovely sapphire blue that matched his eyes. But his strut. His chest was puffed out like a penguin, his head held high like he was Merlin's gift to women. Five minutes into his rant about his many accomplishments, Hermione sent him home.

The next hour was filled with man after man exactly like him, just different packaging. This one had orange wings, that one had red hair, but underneath they were all the same. Pompous, arrogant, and shallow. More than one got only seconds in her presence before she banished them just for the way they introduced themselves.

Her patience was running very thin, and she was considering just calling it a day when in strolled Charlie Weasley.

"Oh thank God, someone who won't stick his foot in his mouth!" Hermione cried out, her wings fluttering in agitation and relief.

Charlie gave a deep laugh at this. "And here I was expecting to get a question about where's Ron! Nice to see you, Hermione!"

Hermione huffed at him, crossing her arms over her chest. "Well, I am a bit shocked to see you here, but I should have guessed. Large family, dragon tamer... Are your brothers and sister drackens as well?"

Charlie shook his head, shrugging, "Nah. Bill's a dracken, but as you know he married Fleur last year, so he left when the others did. He told me to tell you thank you, with Fleur expecting it was hard for him to be here. But the others are human- well, Dad's a dracken and Mum's human. He was here for a while, but he's gotten good at fighting the urge to show up. He was only here for a couple minutes, not even enough time to see who the submissive was. He's gonna get a kick outta this!"

Hermione chuckled, Charlie's bubbly attitude lightening her mood considerably. "I'm happy to amuse."

"So you didn't know, huh?" Charlie sat in the chair across from her, his head tilting slightly as he waited for her answer.

"No, I didn't know. Imagine how shocked I was when I woke up covered in scales, with wings."

Charlie smiled flirtatiously at her, "But you wear it so well! Scales and wings befit your lovely form." At this, Hermione took a moment to really examine him. Could she take this pseudo-brother and make him something more? He was objectively not beautiful, but attractive. He was short for a dracken, and quite stocky. Again, not fat, but muscular in all the right ways. Those arms looked like they could keep you safe. He had let his hair grow out a bit, giving him a shaggy look, and his freckles were the most intense she'd ever seen, but it didn't detract from his pleasing face. He had an easy and fun personality, and Lord knew that she needed that. Yes. She could see this potentially working.

"Not as good as the long hair looks on you. Your mother finally gave up trying to keep it trimmed?" _Oh great, Hermione. Mention his mum. That's exactly what a wizard wants to hear when you're trying to flirt._

Charlie smirked at her, as if understanding exactly what was going on in her head. "Thanks, she hasn't cut my hair since I got my inheritance. It turns out? If I want I can just will it to grow back. She got tired of cutting it after the tenth time." Hermione had a small chuckle at the idea of Molly Weasley cutting Charlie's hair and it growing out in front of her. Charlie continued the interview in a more professional manner though.

"I guess this is the place where I tell you how I would be a valuable mate for you. I'm not particularly wealthy, but I have a great job at the dragon reserves that provides a salary capable of supporting a family. My boss is a dracken as well and has arranged for a special floo connection from Romania to whatever house you choose. But I think the best thing I come with? Is my family. My family is huge and very involved with one another. They would be happy to babysit during heats, and have us all over for Sunday dinners, and just about everything else. My mother would adopt every one of your mates as her own, and spoil any children you were to have absolutely rotten. Also. I'm ruggedly handsome."

Hermione could already see it, showing up at the Burrow with a passel of kids and sending them running in the garden, all of them giving mandatory squishy hugs to Grandma Molly. Yes, Charlie was right. His family was very appealing. She knew exactly how lonely a family-less life could be, knew just how coveted that special dynamic was. Her dracken instincts screamed at her to grab this one. To keep him and not let any other submissive steal him, but she fought it. The others had been promised a second round of interviews. Charlie brought the thing she wanted most, a secure and loving family, but the others had positives too, and deserved to have them heard.

"Charlie, I want you to know that you have made it to the second round of interviews. I love your family, you know I do. You are familiar and," Hermione felt her face heat slightly, "Very attractive." Charlie smirked in response, his eyes heated and daring her to take that further. "But I promised a second round. I will choose my first mate after that. Please tell me you'll come."

"They'd have to kill me to keep me away." Charlie bowed slowly, his eyes never leaving her. "Until next time, Hermione."

As the door closed behind him, Sirius whistled. "Well. I'm surprised you two didn't jump each other right there. The tension! I thoroughly approve." Harry nodded, obviously pleased at the thought of Hermione having a family. He knew what it felt like too. Being alone, feeling like you had no one.

"The Weasleys are a great family Hermione, but what are you gonna do about Ron?" Harry's question dumped a bucket of cold water down Hermione's back.

"Crap."


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

**A/N: **Thank you so much to my amazing beta AlaskanAppaloosa!

I don't own Harry Potter, JK Rowling and all her peeps do. I'm just playing with her toys!

**Lianore** \- Best insult ever INDEED.

**roamingbecca** \- Abe was based on my hometown actually! I'm from a prairie province in Canada and Abe is kinda the culmination of all the things I think of when I think of a 'prairie boy'.

Thank you everyone for your amazing reviews! I read and love every single one.

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Hermione was a bit ashamed to say the last three prospects didn't really get fair shots. She was just too distracted with her options. Granted, the fact that they were just a couple more flashing males was a contributor as well. The last one seemed almost nice, which made Hermione feel a bit bad, but when Sirius asked what he wanted in a mate, the man snarled that he wasn't talking to them and that he wanted a housewife who would stay home and raise his children. Both of them knocked him out of the running pretty quickly.

The goodbyes to the counsel and the body guards were mostly robotic and routine, with Hermione clearly distracted, but they seemed to understand, not expecting much of her.

Harry and Sirius guided her into the floo and yelled out the destination for her. Once she stepped into Grimmauld, her feet took her on auto-pilot to the library, where she sat heavily a chair and contemplated her options.

There were only a few males who had even made it into the next round of interviews, far fewer than she expected. Charlie, Lucius, Severus, Ernesto, and Abe. There couldn't be so few reasonable males among the drackens, could there? With a deep sigh, Hermione conceded that perhaps she hadn't given all the males fair shots. It was a very stressful process for them as well, and perhaps that had played a part in some of the posturing. Especially in some of the younger males, sheer stress might have provided the needed strain required. Oh well. She only needed a few mates, and these men had proven they could stay calm in stressful situations. To her that was a bonus.

Hermione spent much of her time in the public eye, being Harry Potter's best friend. It was occasionally quite invasive and stressful, and it was nice to know that several of the prospects for her mates were also in the spotlight, and would be used to the pressure.

Getting tired of sitting, Hermione jumped up and moved to the white boards, setting the erasers to work erasing the previous day's work with a wave of her wand. As soon as one full board was cleared, she grabbed a purple pen and started writing.

She drew a line down the middle of the board, labeling one side Lucius, and one side Severus. On the next board she labelled the two sides Abe and Ernesto, and then Charlie got his own board. Each column then got split into pros and cons. Hermione wasn't so silly to believe these men were or could be perfect.

Under Lucius pros Hermione wrote "Well funded.", "Intelligent." and "Big library." But under cons went "Previous Death Eater – Defected" and "History with Harry"

Severus was a more confusing one for Hermione. Under pros went "Intelligent.", "Attractive.", "Brave", and "Witty." But under cons went "History.", "Rude.", and "Potentially hard to live with." It would be very hard to divorce Professor Snape from Severus, but the rewards could be immense if she managed it.

Abe and Ernesto both got "No previous history" under pros, while Abe got "Homey.", as did Charlie. Under Charlies cons went "Ron." But for both Charlie and Abe "Big family." got put into the pros.

Sirius and Harry came into the library and each grabbed their own markers to add to the boards. Sirius' first contribution was to put "Ponce." under Lucius' cons. Harry, for his part, added "Attractive to Hermione." under each man's pros. Sirius scowled when it went under Lucius' pros, but left them alone. Harry considered for a moment before adding "Will challenge 'Moine" to both Lucius and Severus. Hermione added "Considerate." to both Abe and Ernesto.

At this point Sirius left to get food, Hermione hollering after him to remind him that Neville was coming too. Hermione spent a few more minutes pondering the board, while Harry made a note on the other side of Charlie's board that made Hermione laugh. "Need to know: Does anyone cook? Hermione can't."

"You can't either!" Hermione laughed, shoving Harry.

"I know, but you guys can't feed your family of a gazillion kids on takeout! You guys'll go broke in a couple months, even if you have Malfoy's bottomless vaults to pull from!"

"You're not wrong there, Harry." Neville said as he pushed open the door to the library.

"Oh no!" Hermione exclaimed, "I'm so sorry, Neville! I meant to meet you as you got out of the floo!"

"It's ok, Hermione. You guys were loud enough that I could follow your voices." Hermione had the grace to look ashamed, but Harry had no such compunctions, he laughed.

Neville gave both Harry and Hermione a hug before turning to examine the boards. "Why am I not surprised that you have a system for sorting your potential mates?"

"Cause you know our girl." Sirius said this, coming in bearing bags of food. "It's just burgers and fries from down the block, but I figured it would fill the cravings, even for the carnivores over there."

"You know, that's not strictly true." Neville said as Harry started digging into the bags and distributing the food. "Drackens are technically omnivores, we just go through cycles of when we eat certain things, especially females. Directly following a heat or before mating, a female lives almost completely on meat products, but can in a pinch eat almost anything else as well. In the middle of her cycle, she'll eat a lot of fruits and vegetables as well as the meats, storing up nutrients for egg creation. In the week directly before her heat though, a female will eat almost exclusively cereals and grains, storing up energy for the week of not eating and near constant sex."

"You say heat cycle, but only one solid time, why is that?" Hermione questioned as she dug out the hamburger Sirius had bought for her, a triple with bacon and extra cheese, hold the fries on the side.

"Well, heat cycles are very personal to each female. Some females have heat cycles that are only a couple months, some have cycles years long. No one can tell what determines it, and it's impossible to guess what your heat cycle will be before your first mating."

"That's interesting. And you can conceive every heat, correct?" It was Sirius this time who asked, around his mouth full of fries.

"No. If the female doesn't have enough mates, or if she's recently had a clutch, or if her dracken instincts sense some danger, there is a chance of a non-fertile heat." Neville had the manners to swallow his food before answering, to Hermiones great relief.

"Is there any median number for how long heat cycles are?" Hermione asked this time, but Neville shook his head.

"No. You have to understand. Asking about a submissive's heat cycle is considered very taboo and even threatening."

Harry interrupted, wiping his mouth of the mustard on his burger as he piped up, "Why is that? It's just how often they have babies, right?"

Again Neville was shaking his head, "No. No it's not. You don't understand. The heat is our most vulnerable time. We can focus on _nothin_g but mating. Houses have burned down around couples locked in a heat, taking them with it, but the couple couldn't stop enough to leave the house. Now imagine you're hiding from poachers, and someone knows that every five months or so, they know you're going to be that caught up in something. They could waltz right up and just... take you. Take your children. Kill you while you were locked into the heat. More than one pair has been taken because their heat cycle was leaked to poachers and they were both killed and neither even put up a fight."

The other three faces in the room got very pale at that. "I can see why it's private information." Hermione whispered. "How do drackens that have families deal with it? Do the heats ever stop?"

"Most of the time family takes the children, and the submissive's family gets first shot at choosing to take them or let one of the dominants families take them. Heats stop when a dracken submissive hits about two hundred naturally, but there are some circumstances where heats may stop unnaturally. I know of at least one woman whose heats stopped after she lost a set of triplets while they were all still in the nest. Her psyche just couldn't handle any more babies." Hermione gasped in horror, her hand going up to cover her mouth. Yes. She could see how that would be horrifying enough to stop having children. Harry's hand grasped hers and he squeezed, offering her silent support, which she appreciated.

"Thank you for letting me know, Neville. There are so many questions I have about being a dracken, but I haven't had time to really do enough research. It's frustrating!" Hermione shoved a bite into her mouth petulantly at the end of the statement to laughs from the other three.

"Well, no one expects that you're going to know everything, Hermione!" Neville said kindly.

"Hey Kitten, you've only been a dracken a couple days, no one is gonna judge you. Just ask your questions when you can, and I'm sure your mate prospects would be happy to answer to the best of their knowledge." Sirius had sprawled out on a chair, stuffing his face with food.

Neville took a minute to grab a pen and add a few things to the board. Under Severus and Lucius cons he added "No family." but under Abe and Charlie he added "Dracken families." "This is a big one, Hermione. A dracken family will understand why you have to disappear for a week to ten days every once in awhile, and why you keep having kids. They'll be fierce protectors. I don't know much about Ernesto, he doesn't come to the yearly dracken meetings they hold for us all to socialize, so I don't know his family situation." Under Ernesto's cons Neville wrote, "Unknown."

"You might consider hiring a dracken investigator to look into this guy before you mate with him if that is the direction you go. They'll dig up everything they can.." Neville nodded and stepped back from the boards, turning to look at Hermione, "Are you ready for the next round of interviews?"

"I think so. It'll just be a longer version of today. I can do that."

Neville though, was shaking his head again, "I forget you don't know these things. In the second round of interviews, the dominants bear a gift that signifies their interest in you and financial assets. Be prepared to go into tomorrow knowing you are going to be getting some very expensive gifts."

Hermione's mouth formed into a small shocked 'O'. "Well. That's... interesting. Can't I tell them I don't want anything?"

"Well. I mean if you wanted to offend them all? Sure?"

"It's wouldn't be the first time Kitten has interrupted the 'natural order' of things and offended tons of people." Sirius noted with a chuckle, sharing a look with Harry. "Remember when she kept trying to free the Elves at Hogwarts? They were so scared she'd kill them all!" A small chuckle was shared all around.

"Plus Hermione, as soon as you released them, they started shopping or looking around family vaults for a suitable gift, and if any of them were like me, they had their gift planned out far in advance. You are far too late to cancel that portion of the interview." This came from Neville, and immediately made Hermione curious.

"Wait, if it's supposed to show how much you know me, how did you have it picked out already?"

"Well, most submissives really love jewellery, so there is a whole section of my family vault that is set aside with various jewels for courting pieces, and then there is another section for rare and valuable items for this purpose. As soon as I knew it was you, I mentally chose a very rare first edition 'Potions moste potente' for your courting gift. I imagine many of the other men did similarly."

Hermione sighed and nodded. "Well then fine, I guess I have no choice. Do I have to give anything back?" Neville confirmed she didn't, in fact it was considered tactless for the submissive to do so. Hermione resigned herself to accepting the gifts with grace and thanks.

Sirius was the one who broke the questions up, "Ok folks, there's a movie on the telly. One that involves lots of exploding things and I want to watch it. Let's go." Harry whooped and ran out of the library while Neville was left behind confused.

Hermione rescued him. "It's a muggle thing. It's fun. We'll make popcorn, and probably cuddle and giggle way too much."

"Sounds fun." Neville seemed skeptical, but it was clear he wasn't leaving his sister tonight. "Do I need to worry?"

Hermione chuckled, but shook her head. "You're protected, I promise."

The night was spent in the muggle room, with all four of them cuddling in a large pile on the ugly old carpet Harry had found in the attic, yelling at each other and at the screen. Laughter flowed easily, and they once again stayed up far to late. Neville made noises about going home at one point, but Hermione had already fallen asleep leaning on him, and she gripped him hard when he tried to move. At that point he was going nowhere, so he, like the others, fell asleep in the dog pile on the floor.

_'My sister. I'm hugging my sister.'_ The comforting, wondrous thought was his last one before sleep overtook him.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

**A/N: **Thank you so much to my amazing beta AlaskanAppaloosa!

I don't own Harry Potter, JK Rowling and all her peeps do. I'm just playing with her toys!

Thank you to all of you who left your amazing and thoughtful reviews! I've loved reading every single one!

I've hit a bit of a writing slump, and three of my children have been sick, so you may find for the next week or so the updates may come a little slower. I'll get back to updating every two days or so soon! Thank you for your patience!

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Harry was the first to wake the next morning, but he was nicer about his early waking than Sirius. Rather than jump around and wake everyone up, he carefully extracted himself from where he was laying in the pile, and checked the time. Seeing it was already 9:45, he quietly poked the others, warning that if they wanted to get breakfast and a shower in before the meetings that day, it was time to get up.

Neville was the first to get up and slip out through the floo to his manor, asking Harry to tell Hermione that if she wanted him at her mate meetings, to send a floo call. Harry promised he'd pass word on as Sirius stumbled out of the muggle room, looking more than a little worse for wear. Hermione was the last to emerge, hollering down the hall for Sirius to let her shower first, because gosh darn it if he wanted to pamper his adorable butt for an hour, that was cool but let her go first because she could be done in ten minutes!

Harry set out to make breakfast, pulling bacon, eggs, and orange juice out of the fridge and getting them cooking before putting a few slices of bread in the toaster. He also grabbed some chicken breasts that Sirius had in the fridge and threw them in a pan to brown up a bit, because he didn't care if his friend was a dragon-human hybrid. No one should eat completely raw chicken.

By the time Hermione emerged from the bathroom, covered by only a very large Disney princess towel, the whole house smelled amazing. She pulled up a spot next to the counter and used a piece of pretty cotton she had bought precisely for this purpose to pat dry her hair. "I don't understand how that cretin can spend forty-five minutes in the shower and then another fifteen getting ready. He's worse than a girl!" The last phrase was hollered, and Sirius poked his head out from the bathroom and threw a very unpleasant hand signal at Hermione.

Harry shook his head at their antics and plopped some bacon and chicken in front of Hermione, along with a glass of orange juice. "Eat. You're gonna waste away with the amount you've been eating."

"Yes, Mum." Hermione smirked at him as she tore off a piece of the chicken and popped it into her mouth. "You too, Harry. Sit. Eat." Harry obliged her, sitting across from her with a plate piled high with eggs, bacon, toast, and a large cup of orange juice. He set about devouring the entire plate with the kind of hunger only a teenage boy could muster. By the time Hermione had finished her bacon, Harry was already halfway through his second plate.

"I'm not sure whether I should be impressed with how much food you can pack into that hollow leg or grossed out about how fast that all went down."

"Obviously you should admire my skills. Anyone who tells you otherwise is a lying liar." Harry quipped, throwing her one more piece of bacon as she stood to go back to her room.

A small chuckle was all she deigned to give him for this before she opened the door to her room. With a small sigh she stepped into her closet once again. It didn't take much time to decide to go with her tried and true favourites, after all, these were her final mate prospects, right? If they couldn't deal with her in her normal clothes, then it was time for them to pass along. She was especially curious about how Lucius would cope with her muggle cut-off shorts. They were a good bit higher than the wizarding world typically thought was proper, though they were perfectly modest by muggle standards. The airy pink floral cap-sleeved blouse she paired them with was one of her favourites, and the white lace that detailed the back and revealed a good bit of her back made her feel gorgeous and sexy. She braided her hair as she looked over her guilty pleasure, shoes. She finally settled on a simple pair of gold sparkly flats, and a headband to match in her hair. Very little makeup finished up the look, and Hermione felt ready to face the day.

When she emerged, Sirius was nearly done tucking into his breakfast, and she greeted him with a hug and a "No hard feelings about the shower." He made no promises about retribution, which was scary coming from a Marauder. Hermione vowed to make sure he had time alone to get laid soon so he would forget her transgression.

Harry told Hermione Neville's message, which she was glad for. It gave her something to do before the meeting. "I'll be back with Neville in a couple minutes." She hollered over her shoulder as she stepped into the fireplace, throwing some floo powder down at her feet. "Longbottom manor!"

Once the purple smoke cleared on the other side of the floo, Hermione was surprised by the house she found herself in. Somehow she had been expecting lots of dark woods and reds, but rather she found a manor that was clearly inspired by French villas. White marble and faux-Greek pillars graced the walls and floors, and the portraits were housed in thick gold frames. The furniture was mostly white, with hints of gold, but all obviously well-made and maintained.

Neville had come into the study when he heard the floo flare, and greeted Hermione with a hug. "Good morning! I'm ready to head out if you are?"

"Yes. Is this... do you live here all the time?" Hermione's question was tentative and shy, but her eyes were busy taking in every detail of the room.

Neville's eyes softened slightly in a smile as he looked down at his sister. "Yes. I live here full-time with grandmother, I'd be happy to offer you a full tour once your mating meeting is over."

"I would love that. Your... our.. grandmother wants to have some time to chat with me too. I'm not sure how I feel about that." Hermione admitted, her apologetic eyes meeting Neville's. "What's she like?"

Neville took a moment to ponder this before answering as honestly as he could. "She's... strict. I think losing dad and mum really took a lot out of her. She loves me, I know that. But she's not the kind to be... overly affectionate. Don't expect kisses or hugs or a teary reunion. It's just not her style. She'd be more likely to set you up a trust fund and try to show her love in more practical ways."

Both young people stepped into the floo and Hermione cried out "Grimmauld place!" as Neville threw the powder. The security team was already in the kitchen by the time they stepped out of the fireplace. Hermione greeted each of the men by name, and learned that Harry had already offered each of them a drink or some food.

Harry stumbled out of his bedroom pulling on a grey t-shirt, and apparently he was the last one they were waiting for, because Bart stepped into the floo and it didn't take long for the rest of the crew to follow. It was a relief to see the dracken counsel halls quite empty. The press of bodies yesterday had been quite overwhelming. Bart informed Hermione that the interviews today would be held in one of the smaller meeting rooms, helping them feel more intimate.

The security team showed her into the room, which had been outfitted with a sofa for her friends to sit on, and two large comfy chairs for her and her suitor to sit. There was also a table for her to stack her gifts on, and a buffet off the side that had dainties and a coffee pot and a tea set as well. The overall effect was comfortable and relaxed. It was a relief after how formal everything had felt the day before.

Hermione settled into the chair, and let Bart know she was ready for the first suitor to come in. After only a moment, Lucius Malfoy stepped in the door, gliding in to bow slightly in front of her. "Good morning, Hermione." Hermione nodded and motioned for him to sit, but he instead reached into his robe and pulled out a shrunk package that with a wave of his wand, he returned to it's original size. "Please accept this gift as a token of my esteem for you."

Hermione took the gift from Lucius' hands with a quiet thank you, setting the present on her lap before tearing into the gold paper. '_Please don't be real gold',_ Hermione prayed as her fingers tore through it. When she lifted the lid from the box, she was stunned to see an amazing pair of custom gold shoes, with a fine sparkly dusting on the stiletto heel.

At her stunned silence, Lucius cleared his throat and spoke. "I will admit, I did some reconnaissance on this particular gift. I am sure you were expecting to get books from every man here... but you already knew about my library. I wanted to show you another area of my life. These shoes are custom Louboutin shoes. They are spelled to be comfortable no matter how long you wear them, and to never let you trip or roll an ankle. Draco had to do some digging to find your shoe size, which is impossibly tiny, and that you have narrow feet. The finish is done with real gold and diamond dust, for a perfect sparkle."

Hermione stared wide eyed down at the shoes, totally overwhelmed by the fact that she probably held tens of thousands of pounds in her hands. "I... I..."

"Hermione, please look at me." Lucius said kindly, smiling when her wide eyes met his. "I know that for you, this is a very large purchase. But for me, it was simply providing something that you enjoyed. One of Draco's friends remembered that you loved shoes in Hogwarts, and for me, money is no object. Please, enjoy the shoes. If you are my mate, there could be many more just like them. I love all things luxurious, and if shoes are your guilty pleasure, it would be my immense pleasure to indulge it. And I will feel no guilt."

"I think you misunderstand me a bit, Lucius. You couldn't pry these shoes from my cold, dead hands. These are the most beautiful shoes I've ever laid eyes on. I was just.. shocked with the price tag, and the fact that you of all people, somehow figured out how to give a non-book gift. You see. All my friends give me books. It's the.. default setting if you will. It's very rare I get other gifts, let alone ones that are so thoughtful and well researched. Thank you very much. I will treasure them always." Hermione's eyes roved back down to the shoes, stroking them softly. "They're so pretty." She whispered, and Lucius smiled indulgently.

"I'm glad I chose correctly. Now tell me. How was your evening? I hear you found a long-lost brother?" Hermione chatted easily with Lucius, surprised by how simple conversing with him was. He was an attentive listener and thoughtful conversationalist. She could easily see how this would flow into a healthy relationship.

Eventually they turned to what Lucius' work encompassed, and while Harry and Sirius' eyes glazed over, Hermione was fully engaged, particularly when Lucius noted that they had been looking into bring muggle inventions to the wizarding world. "We have been invested in many muggle companies for some time, but so far very little of that technology has transferred over, I would like to see that change."

Hermione was very excited for this information and immediately responded, "We actually have a muggle room at Grimmauld place where I have brought over many of my favourite muggle conveniences." Lucius seemed genuinely interested in seeing this room, and Sirius grudgingly agreed he would allow Lucius access if he mated Hermione, which resulted in a crushing hug from said woman.

The hour flowed easily and when Bart announced it was time to let in the next suitor, Hermione found herself disappointed.


	15. Chapter 15

Thank you so much to my beta AlaskanAppaloosa. I don't know what I'd do without you!

I don't own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does. I only wish I did.

* * *

Hermione's mood didn't stay in a slump for long though, because when Lucius gracefully bowed out of the room, Abe came in, carting with him a fairly large package. Hermione was amazed when he got fully in the room and enlarged it even more, until it was quite large, about five feet by four feet she would guess.

Curious part of her nature did battle with her polite self, and while the polite self won, it was by a small margin. "Hello Abe, how are you this fine morning?"

"Hello, Hermione!" Abe bowed a cheeky bow, and then motioned to the crate. "I can see it in your eyes darlin'. You want to see what's inside. Go for it, it's yours after all!"

Hermione was nearly bouncing as she dug into the purple wrapping paper. Harry and Sirius were both chuckling at her visible disappointment when she uncovered a crate. With a matching chuckle Abe instructed her to pull it apart, and to her surprise, Hermione could do so with ease. For a moment she was so caught up with the novelty of her newfound strength, that she nearly forgot about the gift inside, but once she clued in, Hermione was absolutely thrilled.

"I know you grew up muggle, and I figured you'd enjoy an homage to your heritage. She's great for a beginner, and she was custom-painted for you by my sister, I didn't think you'd be into the green she normally comes in... and of course I did some work on the engine to give her some extra pick up and go. I have one of my own, and my family has a large forest on their land I'd love to take you through..."

Hermione's eyes feasted in the amazing ATV he had gotten for her. The paint job was stunning, made to look like a stormy night with beautiful lightning flashes cutting across it.

Sirius was already peeking at the engine, looking under the seat to get a good view. Hermione shoved him out of the way to take a seat on the vehicle, gripping the handlebars. "Oh my gosh. I want to go riding this like... now." Her eyes took on a slightly wild tint as she turned back on the bike to look at Abe. "I'd race you."

"Oh bring it on, Princess. I'll take you, anytime, anywhere." The heated look he shared with her made her throb in all the right places. A cheeky grin blessed her face as she stood up on the foot rests, giving Abe a clear view of just how well those cut off jeans fit her form.

A slightly strangled groan came from behind her and suddenly Abe was standing close enough behind her she could feel his breath on the back of her neck. "You're playing with fire, Princess." A shiver traced down Hermione's back as her dracken virtually purred.

"Maybe I like fire." The words escaped her before she could think them through, but suddenly Bart was stepping between her and Abe, and the later was in full dracken form, taking some very deep breaths and obviously fighting a losing battle to get himself under control.

"Oh gosh, Abe. I'm so sorry... I didn't... think." Hermione flushed as she jumped off the ATV, moving towards the dominant before Bart waved her off.

"Give him a minute. He knew what he was doing, getting that close." Bart gave a long suffering look to Abe before continuing, "He's always been one to push the boundaries a bit. He'll be fine."

It took about three minutes before Abe was in control again, but once he was, he turned a winning smile to Hermione. "Worth it to make the pretty lady lose herself a bit." A tinkling laugh was what he got in response.

"All the same, I think some distance might be a wise choice." Hermione indicated for Abe to sit in one of the comfortable chairs the dracken counsel had provided while she sat sideways on the ATV. "Tell me about your family. You said you have forty brothers and sisters?"

"Yes, I currently have forty siblings, though my mother is pregnant again, so that number will be changing soon." The enormity of the numbers of just how many children full-blooded drackens could have suddenly hit Hermione hard.

"Is that what I should expect as well? Forty or more children?" Hermione honestly couldn't decide if this thought thrilled her or made her so panicked she wanted to run for the hills.

Abe was nodding slowly, watching her face intently. "Yes, though my mother has children faster than most. Her heat cycle is very short, so her numbers are a bit higher than most for the point of her life she is at... but dracken submissives regularly procreate well into their eighties, and sometimes far later. My mother is eighty-five, so she is fairly certain this will be her last clutch."

The world spun for a moment before Hermione fully processed those numbers. Abe on the other hand continued. "Hermione, I know that for you and your world, these numbers are very high. But in my world, they are perfectly normal. Yes, my family is large and a little crazy... well, more than a little crazy... anyway, we're not all drackens, and some of my siblings aren't even magical. The house isn't quite as insane as it would be with forty drackens running around, and most of us don't even live at home anymore..."

"Wait." Hermione threw up a hand, her face pained. "Some of your siblings aren't even magical?"

Abe knew what she was thinking as soon as she said it. "Yes, and they have normal human lifespans. If ever you meet my family, you will meet my brother, Harold, who is a non-magical. He's sixty years old, and very happy with his muggle-born wife and their two children. My parents resigned themselves long ago to watching some of their children age and die while they remained as they were."

"How awful for them." Hermione whispered, her eyes pained and sad.

"Yes, it is painful. But also beautiful. My family are all so different. But our differences forge us into a stronger unit. My brother will never lack for anything, and neither will my other non-magical siblings. They are immersed in a world that most people don't know exists, and frankly? They don't want your pity, and neither do my parents. They just want to live their lives to the best of their ability." Obviously this was an old and tender wound, and Hermione's heart broke for this family. What had been said to leave them so raw?

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to step on toes. I guess I just didn't consider this as what is potentially going to be part of my life. Please forgive me." Hermione's apology was heartfelt and earnest, and Abe smiled in response.

"It's not your fault, Princess. You didn't know. There are those in our... society... who view non-magical children born to drackens as aberration, and advocate for drowning them upon birth. My parents were instrumental in making the laws that made that act illegal, but it was a recent thing, and many still hold old-fashioned views. It has more than once created tension at the yearly dracken meetings when we bring my non-magical siblings."

Hermione and her two friends horror at this piece of information was palpable, but Hermione managed to respond with some grace, "I'm so glad your parents have taken steps to correct this injustice. I can't... imagine..."

"Most drackens can't. But we're not all the same, and Merlin knows we're not all perfect." Abe shrugged, then delicately changed the subject. "Please, tell me about your life growing up."

Hermione animatedly told him about the orphanage, leaving out the details she recently found out and instead focusing on her personal interactions with the other girls and matrons. Before long though, her time with Abe was up, and he politely bowed out, reminding her she promised him a race. She swore she would kick his butt later and he left with a smile and a wave.

There was a bit of a gap before the next suitor came in, which gave Hermione some time to turn and address Sirius and Harry. "So? What do you think so far?"

"I think I'm gonna bankrupt myself trying to buy all your kids birthday presents." Sirius drawled, earning a stuck out tongue from Hermione.

"I like Abe. He's... chill. You need chill. He also seems like he knows the ropes of the dracken world fairly well as well, which is valuable to you, both long and short term." Harry was the one who noted this, and Hermione fully agreed. "Also, he brought you a non-book but still amazing present. That's fantastic."

"Ok. Then he's still fully in the running. I wonder just how many mates I'll actually need?" Hermione mused, but at that moment the next suitor entered the room.

A small pang of disappointment hit her as Ernesto entered the room. She greeted him very neutrally with a simple hello and he bowed low in response. "Hello Hermione. Please accept this gift." He held out a small but beautifully wrapped box. Tearing into it, Hermione had to fight slight disappointment when she saw a glimmer of jewels. Opening the box fully, she eyed the beautiful diamond necklace and earrings contained. It wasn't that they were lovely. It's just that the gift was clearly pulled out of a list of 'things women like', and was very much not something she would have reached for herself. Still, Hermione thanked Ernesto profusely, holding up the necklace to her throat for him to see how it would look. "They're beautiful, thank you."

The meeting was, in a word? Bland. Mostly small talk was made, and no chemistry seemed to spark between her and Ernesto, which was disappointing. He seemed to know about halfway through the meeting that his chances were slim, because he visibly relaxed and just chatted. Hermione found the interaction pleasant, but nothing groundbreaking. She was quite relieved when the timer was called, though she thanked Ernesto for coming to the meeting, she promised no further interactions.

After the door closed behind him, Hermione turned to Bart and asked simply, "What do I do with the gifts given to me by dominants I reject?"

Bart seemed confused by the question, "You keep them. They're for you."

"But... they aren't... Am I going to offend him if I give this back?" Hermione motioned to the jewelry, frustrated sigh escaping her as Bart nodded solemnly.

"If you give it back, you're basically saying that he has to have it back to be able to give a proper gift to the next submissive. It's a terrible insult. I've seen it done only once in my lifetime, and the male suffered under the shame of it for years." Bart explained patiently, "Keep it for your sons to use to court their mates."

Hermione sighed once again as she tucked the jewels away, but her frustration quickly faded as she caught sight of the door opening again, this time admitting Severus Snape.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

A/N: Thank you as always to my amazing beta AlaskanAppaloosa!

I don't own Harry Potter!

Thank you SO SO much to everyone who left reviews. I LOVE reading every single one.

My children are feeling much better the last few days, which has been making things much easier thank you all for your concern!

* * *

Of all the meetings, Hermione was most trepidatious about this one. Severus was... complicated. The history with him was obviously very mixed. He was brave and loyal, and potentially the most intelligent person she had ever encountered. He was also sarcastic, rude, and unashamedly the worst professor she had ever had. The role he played during the war as a spy had meant that his interactions with his students, including her, had been in a word, terrible. There was also the 'had a serious crush on Harry's mom' thing that could make things incredibly awkward. But there was also a part of Hermione that whispered, "But if it worked... it could really _work." _And so here she was, greeting Severus Snape with a cheery hello and hoping he was as nervous as she was for this second interview.

"Hello Hermione. Thank you for allowing me to be here today." Hermione had almost forgotten just how that voice that could be so cutting and harsh could also be so silky and smooth. With a small smile she returned his bow with a nod of her head.

"Hello Severus. It is a true pleasure to have you here."

The smile that graced his face shocked her a bit, but not in a bad way. Rather, it took the harsh lines of his face and made them pleasant and almost kind. His face still wasn't conventionally handsome, or even particularly open or trusting, but it was striking. He had shed his heavy robes for this meeting, instead he had donned a muggle leather jacket, black jeans, and a white t-shirt. It gave him a rather devil-may-care look that Hermione found wildly attractive.

He carried with him no packages, which was a mild relief for Hermione. The last two gifts had been wildly extravagant, and she just wasn't sure she was adequately prepared to handle another. "How has your day been, Severus?"

"Very well, thank you. Most of my morning was spent sequestered in my lab, preparing and sorting ingredients. It was quite relaxing."

Before he could continue or returning her question, Hermione's curiosity reared its head. "What were you preparing? Do you keep extensive stores? Who do you brew for?"

Rather than being offended, Snape seemed amused by her questions. "I was grinding moonstones and processing a large order of exotic ingredients a friend of mine sent me from India. I do keep quite extensive stores in my lab, I loath having to interact with the general public every time I run out of valerian. Currently I brew for St. Mungo's, and I continue to brew for the Hogwarts infirmary as needed." Severus shifted, reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out a small vial. "But most of my time lately has been taken up brewing this."

He stood and presented the small vial to Hermione with a small bow. Hermione examined the potion inside the bottle critically. It was a lovely blue color, very matte, and quite thin in consistency. With a questioning look at Severus, she popped the lid, and at his nod, took a small sniff. The only scent she could pick up was a very slight menthol. "I don't believe I have every encountered this potion before. May I ask what it is?"

"It is the _Calor Parvam_." A sharp inhalation from Bart was Hermione's first hint that this wasn't as innocuous as it seemed.

"Please tell me about this mysterious _Calor Parvam._" Hermione turned her attention fully back to Severus, her analytical mind already cataloguing what she knew of the potion.

"This potion, when taken within the week before a heat, will guarantee a non-fertile heat."

"Wait." This time it was Harry who spoke up, interrupting Severus. "If such a thing exists, why don't dracken females take them all the time? It's essentially dracken birth control, correct?"

Severus' glare could have withered plants, but he answered Harry's query. "The ingredients in this potion are incredibly rare, one ingredient in particular. A single flower that blooms only once a year, that grows only in one spot on the entire globe, and must be fertilized in a very particular way to make this potion. It took me extensive bribery to get access to enough of the distilled oil to create enough _Calor Parvam_ for one heat. Besides the difficulty of obtaining ingredients, the brewing process takes a minimum of mastery level skills. Even for myself it was difficult."

Hermione's eyes widened as her eyes flitted between the potion and the potions master. "Severus, this is far too generous. I can't..."

But a glare from the man quieted her, and suddenly she felt very much like a young girl who had lipped back to her professor. "Hermione. It was a pleasure to brew this for you. I know you are quite worried about how your life will look if you have to have children whenever biology dictates to you. I hope that you will keep this potion, and at a time when you personally feel that you cannot have any more children without losing what your remarkable brain has worked so hard for... use it."

The intensity of what Severus had offered her hit Hermione like a ton of bricks. He offered her the luxury of _choice_. For this entire process, she had felt out of control. As if her choices were being dictated by biology, and she was just along for the ride. Severus offered her, however briefly, the chance to dictate her own life again. Tears welled up in her eyes, and Hermione struggled to stop them from spilling over.

_Hermione Granger, you will _not_ cry in front of Severus Snape, even if he does something so sweet it makes your teeth ache. _She mentally berated herself, blinking away the tears. If Severus saw them, he tactfully chose to ignore them. It took a couple of moments before Hermione could finally get her voice together to whisper, "Thank you Severus. I will treasure this. Very much."

Severus smiled at how tightly she clutched the small vial. "It's shelf stable for up to ten years, as long as it's stored between sixteen and twenty five degrees celsius. When you take it, remember to ingest it with food, as it will make your stomach quite upset, and I'm sorry, but it will taste quite awful." He settled back into the chair, crossing his left leg over his right, but maintaining quite proper posture.

With a deep breath, Hermione passed the potion to Bart, who had taken out a small wooden box lined with red velvet to store it in. Bart took the moment to address Hermione. "I would keep the fact that you have this potion quiet. It's... not strictly illegal in dracken culture... but it's not exactly thought well of either. Congratulations on the thoughtful gift."

Hermione nodded in understanding before turning back to Severus. "Thank you again. What else are you working on right now?"

The rest of the meeting was spent talking over the finer points of potions theory. It turned out that Severus had been working extensively on curing Lycanthropy, and Hermione was very interested in the changes he was making to the Wolfsbane base to achieve the change he felt would fully suppress the wolf. Harry tried to keep up for a couple of minutes, but eventually gave up, and Sirius had tapped out long before that.

It turned out that Severus had been working with Neville to create a variation on the wolfsbane plant, which was going well, and Neville made it be known that he would be happy to have Hermione take a peek at the plants the next time she was brave enough to visit his manor.

Neville had stayed very quiet through the interviews, keeping to himself and not voicing an opinion on the potential mates. So far none of them had made any serious faux-pas, and Hermione was clearly able to deal with them herself. When Severus turned to leave, saying his goodbye's to Hermione, Neville was a bit shocked to have his sister whip around to address him as soon as the door closed on his former potions professor.

"If I mated with him... could you deal? I know he was quite terrible to you as a child. I wouldn't want to have a mate you hated..."

Neville was flattered to have his opinions taken into consideration. "We've been getting along quite well for the wolfsbane, I see no reason that won't continue. I think he really just hated having to keep my alive during potions. My skills lie elsewhere." Hermione grinned at him brightly, because she was certain this was true. Neville truly had been a hazard in potions, even after she had gone out of her way to partner with him to mitigate the damage. But his skills in Herbology were truly amazing.

"Ok. Let me know if it ever becomes a problem. I mean, I can't really go back on it if we ever end up mating... But I'm _sure _I could make his life a living hell."

Neville chuckled at the truth of the statement, but before the conversation could continue, the door was opened to admit Charlie.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

A/N: OMGOSH my lovely readers I'm SORRY. My computer unexpectedly died, and I had no way to get things published! It was HORRIBLE. Thankfully my amazing beta AlaskanAppaloosa let me keep writing by sending things to her, but it was a long slog writing on a phone! Turns out, there was a manufacturers issue with the main drive, which wasn't my fault (yey!), but still. I was without a computer for two weeks.

But. I am back. And you'll like this chapter my loves!

Thank you so much for coming back after such a long break!

* * *

Charlie swaggered into the room, and Hermione for the first time got a good look at his tattoos. He had chosen to wear a sleeveless shirt and what she suspected were dragonhide shorts, which left a lot of his skin fully exposed. While Harry and Sirius greeted him, Hermione's eyes traced the Chinese-style black lined dragon that started on his left wrist and curled around his arm and up his shoulder. The work was detailed and anatomically correct, which fit so well with his personality. Looking down his body, Hermione's eyes picked up the hint of trees or flowers at the bottom of his shorts and ascending up his thigh.

Hermione's eyes flicked up to meet Charlie's for just a moment, and she flushed to see him smirking, clearly noticing her attention. "Hello Hermione."

"Hello Charlie. It's nice to see you. How was your evening last night?"

"It was amazing actually, Mum spent all night grilling me on you and how you're taking this change. She told me to invite you over later this week, and made it very clear that you were invited even if you chose not to mate with me. But I personally would be heartbroken if that was the case." Charlie's flirty grin was met by Hermione's own.

"Well we couldn't have that, now could we? It's so sweet of your mother to invite me over. I'll make sure to stop by..." Hermione drifted off, unsure if she could actually hold to that statement, as today she intended to pick a mate and she honestly wasn't sure if he would be up for it.

Charlie saw her dilemma right away and rescued her, "There's no pressure, both Mum and I understand that you are going through a lot right now, Mum just thought you might appreciate having someone you can talk to who isn't a male who's trying to get in your pants, but still understands about dracken culture."

Bart, surprisingly, was the one who spoke up. "Hermione, Molly Weasley is well-respected in the dracken community, and I think it would be a wise choice for you to take her up on the offer. I suspect you have been bottling some things up that might need to be talked through." A knowing look passed from him to Hermione, and she just nodded, being unable to deny the truth of it.

"I'll take that into consideration, thank you all of you." A cheeky grin passed over her face as Hermione twirled to look at Charlie. "So. I hear you're supposed to bring a present. Hand it over."

Charlie pulled a small package out of his pocket that he enlarged and held behind his back. "Now that's not asking very nicely..." At Hermione's fake pouting though, he chuckled and handed over the package.

Hermione's hand tore through the wrapping paper that clearly came from Molly's store of paper in the attic, because it was red and covered in small candy canes. "Christmas paper? Really Charlie?" Charlie just shrugged as she gave him a long-suffering look. Hermione shook her head and laughed just how apathetic he was about the wrapping. When her hand touched the contents of the package though, her laugh turned into a gasp. Letting the paper drop to the floor, Hermione held up the beautiful white dragon hide robes that had obviously been custom made for her.

"Mum kept your measurements from her sweaters..." Charlie seemed a bit nervous about how she would take the beautiful gift. "The dragon wasn't killed for the hide, which is why it's not quite as luminous as normal skin, rather it's a shed skin from a Antipodean Opaleye. It is spell resistant, and will keep you safe from most burns when you wear it." Hermione grabbed the top seam, letting the beautiful robes fall naturally. They were beautiful, soft and supple, feeling like the smoothest of snake skin, and yet somehow seemed to bear an inner warmth. With a quick flick of her arms, she slipped on the robes, noticing for the first time the large panel that was removed at the back to leave room for her wings when she was in dracken form. She spun slowly, watching the robes flow and move through the air. Uncaring of her clothing, Hermione let her dracken out, her wings ripping through the top seams of the pretty pink shirt. The opaleye skin was just a shade more creamy than her stark white, but the effect was stunning, her scales blending almost seamlessly with the robe, which was fitted at the top and flowed out from her hips in swathes of fabric.

Charlie's eyes were heated and bright as he took in her form in the robes. "You are stunning. I knew you would be." Orange scales spread across his body, his black tattoos standing out in stark relief along them. Finally his wings spread behind him, the color of new flames, all different shades of orange. "There isn't much that could keep you as safe as being held in a dominant's wings... but that set of robes will be second best. I wanted to make sure you would be safe. Drackens are... volatile. I would hate for your beauty to be marred by a stray claw."

Hermione's wide eyes turned to meet his, heat flaring through her as she realized her dracken had made a choice. This man, who had taken her safety into account first and foremost with his gift. This man, who had a family who would love and include her as if they were her own. This man, who looked at her with blue eyes so deep she swore she could drown in them. She wanted him.

Her feet moved her a step forward, but Harry stepped between them, his hand reaching out to stop Hermione from moving. "Woah there. Don't make a rash decision." Only Bart's quick movement kept Harry from getting a set of claws to the face as Hermione lashed out at the human standing between her and her chosen mate. She caught the vicious snarl that escaped her with a groan, turning burning eyes to Harry.

"I'm sorry. Please. I've made my choice, and... I can't..."

Neville nodded for Harry, "We know, Hermione. Once the dracken has decided... the urge to settle the bond is sacrosanct. We should have warned Harry and Sirius. Please. You have chosen your mate, go claim him."

Charlie's open arms met her near running jump, and he supported her small body as their lips met. Fire. Hermione swore the mating bond felt like fire in her veins. Charlie's orange wings folded around them, affording them a certain amount of privacy as the kiss deepened. When Hermione finally pulled back for air, Charlie's lips drifted down her neck, sending shivers of sheer pleasure down her spine. "Charlie... I... I'm not read-"

A comforting growl met her trepidation. "I know. We have all the time in the world. I swear this won't go any further than this." The declaration made, Hermione's hand twisted into Charlie's hair, dragging him back up for another heated kiss. Small mewls and growls left both the drackens as the intense clash of teeth nicked a cut in Hermione's lip, the coppery taste only fanning the fire in them both, though the cut healed as quickly as it was made. Finally, with a clearly reluctant sigh, Charlie lowered her feet to the ground, opening his wings so the others could see the pair.

Hermione peered out, her arms still entwined around Charlie's waist, while his crushed her to his chest.

"What now?" Hermione whispered, wrenching her eyes away from Charlie for a moment to look at Bart.

"Now you have a couple of options. The mating bond has formed, but does not have to be consummated before your first heat if you don't wish to. For his part, Charlie will feel intensely protective of you, and unwilling to let you out of his sight, because in this time between the bond and the first heat, the bond can still be interrupted. I recommend you choose a place you are comfortable, and stay there tonight getting to know one another better."

Immediately Harry piped up that she was, as always, welcome in Grimmauld place. It was her home, and that wouldn't change just because she came home with a mate.

Charlie took a moment to internally debate this before nodding. "I want you comfortable, love. My dragon-keeper's hut isn't exactly made for comfort. I assume that sometime in the next weeks we are going to need to go house hunting, but for now, Grimmauld place sounds perfect." Through the entire statement, Charlie's hands had not stopped running across Hermione's back, cataloguing each curve and dip, and generally being distracting, so all Hermione could form in response was a small nod.

"What about the others?" Hermione ignored Charlie's low growl at her concern for the other dominants.

Bart answered, seemingly amused at Charlie's antics. "We will inform them that the hunt for your first mate has been completed. But as we are fairly certain you will need at least one more, we will tell them to stay close. You may even choose, once your mating bond with Charlie is firmly established and consummated, to continue your mating meetings, getting to know each of the dominants in that time. You may find that you feel less pressure that way."

Hermione nodded, sinking once again into Charlie. "Let's go home." The brush of her lips against his shoulder was enough for Charlie to lift her once again into his arms, cradling her against his chest. For a moment Hermione considered protesting that she could walk on her own, but the comforting heat of his broad chest was just too good to pass up.

"Excuse me, gentleman. My mate wants to go home." Charlie stated the words as he was already walking towards the floo, clearly not waiting to be dismissed.

Harry and Sirius followed behind, having a quiet conversation between them. "I told you. I knew she'd pick him first." Harry said, clearly gloating.

"Well forgive me for thinking the girl might take farmer boy first." Sirius retorted, eyeing Charlie from behind. "She's got good taste though. The Weasleys are a good family, a light family. Hermione needs that in her life."

Harry shoved Sirius a bit, laughing as the older man stumbled. "Doesn't change the fact that you owe me ten galleons, old man."

Neville had hung behind, clearly conflicted about whether or not he was invited, but Hermione peeked her head over Charlie's shoulder to settled his doubts. "Neville? Aren't you coming?"

The smile he bestowed on her was bright and full of love. "Of course, oh dear sister of mine."

"Oh I like that. Feel free to address me like that all the time." Hermione retorted as she settled back into Charlie's arms.

Charlie rumbled a laugh as he turned his head over his shoulder to address Neville. "Careful, you'll give her a big head." Hermione squawked at the indignity, swatting at Charlie's chin. A deep, harsh growl met the movement. "I wouldn't do that, Love. You might not like the consequences."

"Bring it on." Hermione leaned up to whisper in his ear, and he growled loudly in response, sending more of those delicious tingles up and down Hermione's spine.

"Oh, Love. You don't know what you've started." Charlie rumbled in her ear before he stepped into the floo, grabbing a bit of powder and calling out "Grimmauld Place!". They landed with a swirl of purple smoke, and Charlie immediately marched off to what he knew was Hermione's bedroom, throwing a "We'll be back in a moment." To whoever it was that came through the floo next.

Guessing by the "Don't forget to use protection!" That followed, she guessed it was Sirius. She threw a one finger salute to him from over Charlie's shoulder, but he just laughed in response.

Charlie swung open the door, slamming it shut behind him, perhaps with a little more force than he intended, as the house fairly shook with the impact. He gently laid Hermione down on the pile of blankets she kept on the bed, careful to avoid her laying on her wings.

Hermione was puzzled as she tried to retract her wings, to find she couldn't for the first time since her transformation. As Charlie laid down in the bed beside her, cuddling her to his chest again, he answered her confusion. "You'll find you can't go... fully human again for awhile. The dracken comes very close to surface with the mating bond. It'll take a couple of hours to settle down." Hermione nodded in understanding, suddenly feeling a bit shy as she studied the small scales on her robes.

Charlie gave her a few minutes in the contemplation, before he forced her out. "Hermione. Please look at me." Hermione's large chestnut eyes met his own, and she was awash in the emotions she found huddled in his deep blues.

A small smile tugged at his mouth as he started to speak. "Hermione. We don't have to live up to any expectations here. We can take this as slow as you want. I know... I know this decision was fast for you, but for me, it is the culmination of years of waiting and hoping and preparing. I have longed for someone exactly like you for long... and all I had on the horizon was spoiled and rotten submissives. And then you step in, this wonderful breath of fresh air, and you offer me everything. I could not possibly be more thrilled. I can't wait to grow old with you. I can't wait to see you huge with my chicks. I can't wait to introduce you to my family as my mate. I can't wait to spend the rest of my life showing you you weren't wrong to make this choice." Each declaration had been punctuated by a small kiss on her nose, and Hermione felt her reservations melt away.

"I can't wait either, Charlie. I just feel like all of this has been so fast. I'm half convinced I chose you because I know you best." Hermione was clearly worried about this, wringing her hands together in fear. Charlie quieted her with another small kiss, this time to her lips.

"Hermione, what do you know about what makes drackens choose each other?"

Hermione considered this for a moment before shrugging and saying, "Not much really. I had assumed it was just the same as picking a life partner for anyone else. General compatibility."

Charlie shook his head slowly. "That's a fair enough thought, but it's not how drackens choose mates. I would hazard a guess that any male who made it into the second of round of interviews had a compatible magical signature to yours. The dracken first and foremost cares about long-term compatibility and possibility of magical children. Will there be rough times? Of course. But drackens are known for having long standing, loving marriages. Your dracken wouldn't have let you mate with someone who you will hate in five years."

This did a good bit to calm Hermione's fears, but sent her into a thoughtful trail of inquest about whether or not anyone had studied this phenomenon formally. Charlie, recognizing Hermione's thinking face, settled back and merely held her as her brain went through the potential ramifications of the drackens knowledge of magical signatures. It was about a half hour later when Hermione snapped out of the near trance, apologizing profusely to Charlie for not attending to him for so long.

"No, Love. You have nothing to apologize for. Your intelligence is amazing, and you obviously had something you were considering quite deeply."

It seemed as though Charlie was going to go on, but a sharp knock on their door interrupted him. When Hermione called out a quiet, "You can come in." Harry peeked his head inside.

"Oh God thank goodness. I thought I was going to walk into-... You know what? Whatever. Dinner's ready if you guys want it."

Hermione's stomach growled, and Charlie affirmed they would be there in a moment before Harry left.

Hermione grinned up at Charlie as she shifted back to fully human, and he did the same. Standing up off the bed, Hermione shrugged off the beautiful white robes, and with a small sigh at the lost shirt, pulled it up over her head and discarded it. She nearly missed the small inhaled breath the sight of her nearly bare back prompted in Charlie, a small flush falling onto her face as she stepped into her closet, grabbing a simple t-shirt and slipping it over her head.

When she came back, Charlie looked deceptively calm... but something was making him quite tense. "What's wrong, Charlie?" Hermione inquired, plopping herself down across his lap with a familiarity she wasn't sure she actually possessed.

Charlie struggled for a moment to vocalize what he was feeling before he said, "I want to hunt for you. My... dracken is hammering at me to hunt for you. To provide what you need."

Hermione should have been disgusted by the idea of Charlie apparating to a forest and hunting down something to sink her teeth into. But instead she was excited. The idea of abundant fresh meat, still hot from the kill was heady and intense. "Please do. I'm going to go chat with Harry and Sirius. I'll tell them to expect you. Try not to get any blood on the carpet, it'll take me forever to get out."


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

**A/N: ** Thank you all so much for your amazing reviews! I'm going to respond to a few here!

First off! THANK YOU SO MUCH. It was overwhelming just how many of you were excited to see this be posted on again! It made my entire week. It was killing me that I couldn't post! But be assured that I kept writing, though it was slow, so updates should be regular from here on out.

Second off! To the review in Spanish: Thank God for google translate! :P The number of mates will be found out soon I swear! At least 2 more is all that has been revealed in the fic so far! I love stories that give us the ins and outs of life, so this is one of those fics! You'll be reading a lot about 'real life'.

* * *

Hermione gave Charlie a quick kiss before he left, which felt a little strange, but also perfect. It was a little bit nerve-wracking to see him jump out of her second story window, but she peeked out after him and saw that he was fine. The extra strength and accelerated healing of drackens were going to take some getting used to. She waved after him, though he didn't turn around to see it, before moving out of her bedroom and heading to where she could hear Sirius and Harry in the kitchen.

She was fully expecting an inquisition, and her boys didn't disappoint. With Sirius kicking off the questions.

"So. How's it feel not being a virgin anymore?"

Hermione grabbed the sweater Harry had thrown over the back of his chair and chucked it at Sirius, smacking him in the face. "Just because I mated doesn't mean I'm not a virgin. We're gonna take it slow. Nothing happened besides some kissing. Technically nothing has to happen until I go into heat… So. Slow."

Harry took this moment to pipe up, "Well, I'm glad that you guys can take a bit to get to know one another. I mean, I know that he is Ron's brother, but you don't know him very well for… him, you know?" Hermione nodded and sat down next to Harry, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"I know. He is taking this as slow as I need to, and hopefully we have a lot of time. Right now I guess it all depends on how long my heat cycle is. If my cycle is two weeks... well, we have two weeks. If it's three months, that's how long we have. Apparently as soon as the bond was made, the timer started, so we will see I suppose." Hermione shrugged quickly, peering over at Sirius, who was already gearing up for his next question.

"So what does it feel like, Kitten? What's the bond like?" Sirius posed the question, but Harry did his best to peer at Hermione, letting it be known that he wanted to know as well.

Hermione took a moment to think on it, her analytical brain pulling apart her symptoms. "It's... strange. Wonderful. But strange." She paused once more, considering again, "If Charlie was any less of an amazing human being, I could see this being incredibly abusive. I... want to please him. I would do anything he said. Be anything he wanted. I wonder if it's the same for him? And, I mean, I can't read his mind or anything, but I can… feel him? I can tell he's alive, and not generally hurt or in distress."

"Do you think you could track him down if he was hurt?" Harry questioned, and sheer panic flowed through Hermione at even the idea of Charlie in distress.

"Yes. I have no doubt I could. Even the idea makes me so panicked I'm sweating. But I have no doubt I could track him down. Oh. I should warn you. He's probably going to be coming back with some sort of dead animal for me. Apparently his dracken really wants to make sure I know he's a good provider. It's..." Hermione's mouth was watering so she had to take a moment to swallow or risk drooling all over Harry. "It's probably going to be a little bit gross, well, a lot gross for you. I don't think I'll be able to stop once he's here with it. Fair warning."

Sirius and Harry took a moment to look at each other, clearly debating how they felt about this. Harry shrugged, which was quickly echoed by Sirius. "I am cool with whatever you have to do, Kitten, just try to keep it off the rug. Remember when I accidentally punched Harry in the nose and the blood got everywhere? It took forever to get out." Harry nodded frantically, rubbing his nose a moment in remembered pain. Both he and Sirius had spent the majority of an hour scrubbing the carpet with cold water and dish soap to try and lift the blood off it, since the carpet had been deemed too delicate to use magic on. There was still a small remnant left behind, but they all pretended it wasn't there because no one wanted to scrub anymore. It gave the carpet character.

"I remember. I told him not to get it on the carpet. Hopefully he listens better than Ron."

Harry snorted derisively, "That wouldn't take much." Earlier that year, Harry had approached Ron and asked him to back off from Hermione because he was making her very uncomfortable, but Ron had taken this as Harry wanted Hermione for himself. The subsequent typical Ron temper tantrum meant that he and Harry had been on rocky ground for quite awhile, and frankly, Harry was tired of Ron's crap.

For a few moments the room was silent as both Harry and Sirius ate their food, seemingly wanting to be finished before Charlie showed up. Hermione watched them fondly, very glad that with Sirius getting custody of Harry, things were finally working out in a way that was safe for her friend, and even made him happy. The fact that all three of them had been in dysfunctional or non-existent families as children meant they bonded together in a little family of their own and it was wonderful.

The crack of apparition was the only thing that announced Charlie, and Hermione had a moment to think "That was fast." before the coppery smell of blood hit her nose and her brain turned off, overridden by pure, unadulterated instinct to feed. Her wings, fangs, and claws burst from her body faster than she could register. Charlie had been a dear and had already skinned the deer he had found for her, which made sinking her teeth into the musculature quite easy. The gush of hot blood across her tongue was heady and rich, and for moment Hermione was convinced she would never eat anything other than a fresh-caught kill again.

It vaguely registered to her that Harry had left the room, but if she was being honest, she didn't really care. Her fangs were cutting off small pieces of the meat to devour, and she was amazed by how little of the animal she had eaten when she was so full. Charlie was making this happy grumbling sound at her back as he reached over and handed her another piece, urging her to eat her fill. It took about ten minutes, but she finally slowed down. Hermione stood, licking her fingers clean. A quick look around showed her that Harry had come back, and Sirius was looking a little green.

"Kitten. I have never seen someone eat so much in my life! Where are you putting it?" Sirius exclaimed, to her laughter. "You've never eaten that much ever!" He mused.

Hermione felt a hot flush fall over her face as she said, "Nothing has ever tasted that good before..." She turned to look at Charlie, an appreciative smile on her face. "Thank you. I'm so full I can't eat another bite."

Charlie clearly thought this was wonderful. He was back in his human form, and very relaxed and full of smiles. "It was my pleasure... Kitten? Was it?" He turned to look at Sirius with a grin. "I like that, can I steal it?"

"Help yourself, mate!" Sirius grinned at his pun while Hermione rolled her eyes.

Those same eyes drifted down to the remains of the deer Charlie had brought, noticing that there was actually quite a lot still there. She hadn't eaten anything close to the whole carcass. "What do we do with that?" She wondered, poking the remains. "I suppose we could butcher and freeze it? Does anyone know how to do that?" The others all shook their heads, but Charlie rescued them all from having to learn.

"I was thinking of taking the rest to a nesting mama on the reserve. She can't really hunt for herself, so this will be a nice treat for her."

Relief flooded Hermione at not having to gut the deer, and she gladly motioned for Charlie to take it. Before he left though, Charlie grabbed Hermione and kissed her hard, one hand wrapping around her waist, and the other tangling in her curls. With a soft sigh she relaxed into him, her body molding to him. When he pulled away, he murmured against her lips "Thank you for letting me do that for you. I love providing what you need." Another hard kiss, then he tore himself away, grabbing the carcass and apparating away with it. Hermione stood stunned for a moment before she turned back to Sirius and Harry, both of whom had large grins.

"Awe. Kitten's in love!" Sirius gushed.

Hermione waved him off, noticing for the first time that she was covered in blood. "Oh! I should go get clean! I'm covered!"

Harry's grimace and nod let her know they had, indeed, noticed just how bloody she was. "It's not that I don't love you, Hermione. But that was potentially one of the grossest things I've ever seen. Cool. But gross. Now. Go take a bubble bath. Do you want me to send Charlie in to chat when he comes back?"

Hermione considered this for a moment, struggling between wanting to preserve her modesty and take this slow, and her dracken's wish to let her mate into every area of her life. Finally, she decided why not? With the amount of bubbles she used in her bath, he wouldn't see anything anyways. "Sure. That sounds... good. Wait. Don't you want my help with..." She motioned to the puddle of blood on the floor, but Sirius was already waving his wand.

"I got this. The hardwood can stand up to some cleaning." In seconds the blood was all gone, and she gave Sirius a quick kiss on the cheek as thanks. Both Sirius and Harry admonished her to enjoy her bath, pushing her towards the stairs. "Go, Kitten! Stop stalling. There is nothing that needs your attention out here. Go."

"Yes, Dad!" She hollered over her shoulder as she sauntered away.

"Be safe, young lady!"

"Never! You can't make me!" Hermione cried back as she shut the bathroom door with a chuckle. "Imma drown in bubbles, just to spite you!"

The bathroom in Grimmauld was truly amazing, as it had been Walburga's favourite place in the house, and she had put a lot of love into it. It was all shades of white and marble, but the most stunning part of it was the tub. It was huge, easily fitting two or even three people, and had multiple taps on the one side, that dispensed bubbles of all sorts along with oils and epsom salts. The custom seats cut directly into the marble were so comfortable, allowing one to read and still float in the amazing bubbles. It was Hermione's happy place outside of the library.

Turning nearly all the taps, Hermione filled the tub with big fluffy citrus-scented bubbles, with some of an oil that Hermione had no name for, but made her skin feel so soft she didn't care. Stripping her clothes and leaving them in a pile on the floor, Hermione sank into the tub with a moan, settling under the bubbles. A quiet knock on the door announced Charlie, and she allowed him in, feeling a bit nervous if she was honest.

"Oh goodness. I'm not sure whether to be relieved or very, very sad that you are covered by bubbles." That was enough to send Hermione into a fit of giggles, releasing the tension.

"Me neither."


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

**A:N:** Thank you to AlaskanAppaloosa, who makes all of this possible!

Orphanage is coming! -cackles- I'm actually writing the chapter where we find out what happens right now!

ZoeyOlivia - You and me both!

Thank you for all your reviews! They breath life into me and motivate me to write so much! Thank you so much!

* * *

For a moment, silence hung in the bathroom as Hermione let the stress leave her frame. Finally she broke the stillness. "I'm... I'm not sure what to do here, Charlie. I feel like we barely know one another, and yet..."

She drifted off and Charlie finished for her. "And yet I want to be with you constantly. And yet I would throw myself in front of a bus for you. And yet, my entire happiness revolves around your own."

"Yes. That." Hermione was pensive and a little bit frustrated. "I realize that for drackens this is quite normal, having a mate that you may or may not know well. But for me, this whole thing is... stressful. Strange. A lot of change."

Charlie listened attentively, but jumped in with an observation. "Hermione. Kitten. Yes. This situation is strange and new. But dwelling on how hard it is won't help. Instead, remember. You have a whole new family who loves you. I popped over to Mum's for a moment to let her know what happened? And she is so thrilled she doesn't even know what to do with herself. She has already started cooking, she expects us over tomorrow." Hermione chuckled before Charlie continued, "Yes, we don't know each other well. But we know our magic is very compatible, we have a couple of months to get to know one another before anything has to happen, and we are both physically attracted to the other one. We know we're both dedicated to family, and those things are more than most arranged marriages start with, and those do pretty well statistically. You get cool new powers, and you get to have a harem of men at your beck and call for the rest of your life. The way I see it, you're coming out on top here."

Hermione giggled, the stress of the situation leaving her for a moment. "Thank you, Charlie. I think I needed that, someone reminding me that this isn't all bad. I'm sorry if I was bumming you out. I'm sure it's properly frustrating, having a mate that is struggling to adjust."

"Nah. I get that it's a big change for you. But I think you also need someone to remind you that it's not all doom and gloom. I'll be here for that. Mum calls me a perpetual optimist, and if you need me to be, I will be your optimist. While we're here and chatting, what is it you want to know?"

Hermione found it comical that she desperately wanted to know everything about Charlie, but when posed with an open door, she blanked. Finally she just threw out the first thing that popped in her head. "What's your favourite color?"

Charlie seemed mildly amused for a moment before answering, "This is going to sound so Gryffindor, but red. Not bright red, but a deep rich red. The red just a shade above black. I love wearing it, and it's the color of one of my favourite dragons. What about you, Kitten?"

"I love almost all colors, but I think my favourite is a really soft purple. Even lighter than the color of lilacs, but in that same family. It makes me happy. Relaxed. Inspired."

Charlie looked for a moment as though he wanted to burn this information into his brain. "My turn. What's your favourite flavor of ice cream?"

"That's a cruel question! I love ice cream, any ice cream. But if I had to pick one? Just one, for the rest of my life? Caramel Explosion by Haagen Dazs. It's everything I love in an ice cream. Tooth achingly sweet, crunchy, a little bit of chocolate... Granted, I try to limit myself but... It's my weakness."

Charlie laughed at Hermione's struggle and subsequent defense of her favourite type of ice cream. But she wasn't finished yet.

"But let's be honest. I'd eat pretty much all ice cream put in front of me. I love it all. What about you? What's your secret weakness, sweets-wise?"

Charlie pondered for a moment, then answered honestly. "I don't much like sweets myself, but if I'm in a munching mood, I can go through a bag of dill pickle crisps in a flash. A friend brought some back from across the pond and I fell head over heels in love with them."

Hermione made a face at the mention of the chips. "I hate those things. How can you eat them?"

"How can you not is the real question!" Charlie shot back with a laugh, reaching into the bath to splash Hermione a bit. "They're amazing! Crunchy and salty and pickle-y. Delicious!" Charlie licked his lips at the thought of them. "I'm going to give myself a craving."

Hermione laughed, "Well. I guess I know what I need to get on your good side."

"Oh Kitten. You don't need bribery to be on my good side." Charlie gave a comical eyebrow wiggle that reminded Hermione of Sirius.

"You, Charlie. Are a shameless flirt."

"Oi! You're my mate! I'm allowed to flirt!" Charlie protested playfully. Hermione splashed him a bit, sending him scrambling away. "Oh you're playing with fire, Kitten." He growled as he stalked closer to the tub, shedding his shirt and pants. Hermione shrieked with laughter and scrambled away in the tub as Charlie jumped in, grabbing her to him and tickling her sides. They both laughed hysterically before it seemed to click in that Hermione was fully naked and Charlie was only wearing underpants. Hermione caught on first and went dead still in his arms, but it didn't take Charlie long to catch the change in mood. With his arm holding her just under her breasts, it was hard not to notice just how... big he was compared to her.

Hermione had never considered being someone who could physically protect and keep her something attractive, but Charlie was quickly making her rethink her opinion. His lips brushed against her neck, drawing a keening moan from her, and she ground back against him. Charlie's lips moved to her ear, "Kitten. If you don't want this to go any further. I'll leave now. But if you make that amazing light noise again..." The hard bulge she felt nudging against her back told her just how much he liked that.

Hermione took a shuddering breath before she whispered back, "Can we.. continue... but not..." She felt her face heating up, barely able to form the words. She had never been the girl who fooled around with others. Never been the girl who even thought of such things, being rather consumed with her academic career and keeping Harry alive... but darn it if Charlie wasn't making her regret every moment of her celibacy.

Charlie growled a bit in her ear before he gently turned her around, holding her close as he met her eyes and held them. "Kitten. I want to be very clear on something. Painfully clear on something. If ever you want to stop, I don't care if we're in the act, I don't care if we have already talked about it... you tell me and I will stop. We will only ever go as far as you want. So. Of course we can. I'd love to take every step you want to."

Hermione took a moment to collect herself before she whispered to him, "I've never done this before. Teach me?"

Charlie didn't respond, but rather captured her lips into a searing kiss.

Throughout the next hour he gently taught her the ways between a man and a woman, guiding her through their mutual pleasure. As they gently came down from the high, they washed each others hair in silence, just enjoying being together. The silence was broken by Charlie's voice, "I never thought I would be so grateful for a large bathtub. We need to make sure our house has a ridiculously oversized tub."

Hermione nodded happily as he helped her out of the tub. "I'm in! As long as it has arm rests for me to read while I'm soaking. Nothing is better than relaxing in the water and reading a good book. Except maybe sharing the bath with a mate."

Charlie laughed and shook his head in exasperation. "One day you're gonna drop a book in the water and you're going to be crushed. What then, hmmm?"

"Then my wonderful mates, who love me so much, will buy me a new one." Hermione hesitated for a moment before tentatively asking the question that had been burning at her all day.

"Charlie?"

"Mmhmm?" Charlie, for his part, was drying off and getting dressed, grumbling to himself about how he needed to move some of his clothes from the reserve to Grimmauld.

"How do you feel about the multiple mates. Honestly." A part of Hermione feared that he would answer he hated it, and would make things miserable for everyone, but another part of her whispered, 'But he's our mate. He wouldn't do that.'

Charlie turned to look at her, clearly puzzled. "I thought you knew. I have known from the moment I walked into that first interview that you were going to need multiple mates, and what that would mean for our relationship, and my relationship with those other men. I'm happy to have a family that is many faceted and beautiful. And if that means that sometimes I have to bottom to a dude during heat, so be it."

Hermione had been drying her hair and getting dressed as Charlie spoke, but at that last revelation, she paused in shock. "Bottom... another male?" She asked, clearly confused.

"Well, Hermione." Charlie said with a shrug, "When you're in heat, we have to be having sex pretty much all the time. If not with you, then with someone. That means that the males will create a hierarchy amongst ourselves and some will have to bottom to the others. All dracken dominants know that it's a possibility, and nearly a guarantee if your submissive needs more than one mate that you will eventually bottom someone."

Hermione was already plugging in what she knew of drackens into this new bit of data. "I suppose it makes sense... I just had never... thought it through before... Do that mean all of you are bisexual?"

Charlie chuckled and shook his head. "Nah, I personally have no serious physical attraction to guys, and outside of heats, I don't seek out sexual interactions with them. I imagine it very much varies per man, just like any other demographic."

Hermione's brain was already making a note to study sexual habits among drackens. It would make an interesting paper to do an anthropological study on drackens, perhaps only readable by other magical creatures? What kind of spell would that book need...

Charlie watched on as Hermione finished getting dressed, clearly going down to a rabbit trail in her mind. He gently guided her out of the door, nudging her to the kitchen and settling her at the table. Sirius wandered in and saw the look on Hermione's face, which caused a small smile on his own.

"How long has she been like this this time?" He inquired of Charlie, opening up a drawer in the buffet against the wall to hand Charlie a piece of parchment and a muggle ballpoint pen from inside it to hand to Hermione.

When Charlie did so, Hermione made rapid notes that she alone could understand. "Only a couple of minutes. I told her another tidbit she didn't know about dracken culture." Taking a peek at her notes, Charlie nodded. "Yeah, it looks like most of the notes are about dracken culture and a... book about it? Maybe?"

"Why am I not surprised?" Sirius grinned, and Charlie met his grin with his own.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

**A/N: ** Thank you so much to my amazing beta Alaskan Appaloosa, who put up with much more crap than normal with this chapter. You make this whole thing possible. Thank you for letting me send this to you basically paragraph by paragraph and annoy you with PMs. You're my hero.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed! I read and love every single one! Please remember that fanfiction writers get paid only in reviews! We LOVE them!

I'm sorry, but publishing on Wattpad just isn't going to happen. I haven't even updated on A03 for a good long while, because I just hate updating in two places. I appreciate just having to upload to one spot.

By ZoeyOlivia: And she's thinking about a book and I'm thinking of the different mates having to bottom! Rofl. And who would bottom who... and if that hierarchy would change and what it would include and all sorts of rabbit hole questions!

I swear those rabbit hole questions will soon be answered! Well… maybe not soon. But eventually!

* * *

Charlie and Hermione were left alone for their evening. Sirius was working on stripping Regulus' old room so it could be used, and Harry was out practicing Quidditch. Hermione wasn't exactly sure what to expect from her first evening alone with Charlie, but overall it was lovely. They spent most of the evening sitting in the library. Charlie was happy to read through the books about dragons in the Black family library, which had been to this point cut off from him, while Hermione buried herself in some books about drackens. Having Charlie around let her run the information found in the books past someone who actually had experience with the creatures written about.

It was incredibly frustrating to Hermione just how much information was missing or just plain wrong. But what took the cake was the fact that she couldn't tell the writers how wrong they were without revealing her status as a dracken. While browsing through these books, the idea of anonymously writing a book on drackens bloomed in her mind and started taking serious root. Being able to type up her draft on a computer and using a general purpose post owl would make her nearly untraceable.

When she ran her idea past Charlie, he was tentative, reminding her just what was at stake; not just for her and Charlie, but also Charlie's entire extended family.

If Hermione was exposed as a dracken submissive, it would be assumed that the rest of the family were drackens as well, and not only Charlie's direct family but all of his aunts and uncles on both sides would also be under scrutiny. It would be an intense strain on the family and would mean a mass relocation, even for the human members of the family. Charlie was willing to talk about it once she had gotten a couple more mates and they had a solid plan, but for now, while she was welcome to write her book for the dracken counsel to hand out to new drackens if she wanted to, publishing for the general public was deemed too risky.

They stayed in the library until quite late, until Hermione was yawning so often she couldn't focus on her books anymore. When she dozed off in the fluffy chair she had settled down in, Charlie picked her up, making a shushing noise at her grumbles of protest. "You're exhausted, Love. Let me care for you." With a small sigh she conceded, leaning into his chest. She felt very pampered when they got into her room, when he settled her into bed and got her pajamas.

When Charlie turned to leave himself, she assumed to settle into one of the guest rooms, she whispered into the darkness. "Stay. Please stay with me." A look of sheer joy and relief passed over Charlie's face for a moment before he stripped down to his boxers and climbed into bed with her, snuggling her to his side. It didn't take long for them to sleep, and Hermione had never felt so safe and secure.

The morning dawned bright and early, and it turned out Charlie was used to rising with the sun. The reserve called for long hours, and it was hard to break that habit. Fortunately, Hermione didn't mind rising with him. She wasn't sure when Sirius had retired, but Harry hadn't come home yet by the time they had turned in. Privately she suspected there was a secret flame out there that he went to see every now and again, but she refused to pry. There were very few things he kept from her, and always with good reason.

Before they ate breakfast, Charlie went to floo-call his Mum. There hadn't been a lot of time to talk to her, and frankly, Molly could be a bit overbearing. Charlie had wanted to give them some space before his family descended on them. But it was time to face the fiddler.

Hermione wished him luck, heading to the kitchen herself. She had no wish to deal with Molly's potential reaction to their mating this early in the morning. Instead she started on breakfast, digging out the waffle maker that was deep in the cupboards. To add to the waffles she cut up strawberries, set out some blueberries, and opened a can of pineapple tidbits. On the table went powdered sugar and syrup, along with the bowls of fruit. Soon the smell of waffles filled the entire kitchen and started leaking out; Hermione knew the moment it happened, because Sirius and Harry crawled out of bed and sat at the table, not willing to miss waffles for a couple extra minutes of sleep.

Just as Hermione started to get worried about Charlie, he waltzed back into the room, a big grin splitting his face. "Mum is thrilled. She has invited us over for dinner tonight, and she said we can drag long Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum here too!"

"I'm Tweedle Dee." Harry quipped as he filled his plate with two huge waffles, a bit of all the fruit, and way more powdered sugar and syrup than could possibly be healthy. Hermione rolled her eyes as Sirius grumbled about having to be Tweedle Dum.

"That sounds fantastic, did you happen to ask her if we could bring anything?" As soon as Hermione said the words, she knew how ridiculous it was. Molly Weasley made enough food to feed an army every meal, and significantly more when guests were coming. "Nevermind. I opened my mouth without thinking."

Charlie chuckled as he gave her a quick peck before sitting at the table. "This looks amazing. Is that a muggle thing-a-ma-bob?"

This launched Hermione into a discourse about how she had developed the spell that converted ambient magical power in a house filled with wizards into electrical power for the muggle devices she truly loved. The waffle maker wasn't the only muggle device in the kitchen. A coffee maker also graced the counter, as did the Kitchen Aid that Harry had gifted Hermione last year for her birthday. One morning she has mourned that she wanted to bake, but all the recipes she knew and loved were from muggles, and thus required mixing that she wasn't sure how to do with a wand. When Harry had shown up with a kitchen aid, she had demanded he return it. He refused, saying it was purely self serving, as he would benefit from her baking, namely in getting to eat all her treats. She relented, and Kitchen Aid was used often, and Harry had undoubtedly eaten more than his share of the goodies she made. The stove that sat in the kitchen was muggle in origin and look, but had come from a wizarding store. The charms set on the metal and heating elements let her have fantastic control, and felt very natural.

Harry made Hermione a plate of waffles piled high with strawberries and syrup, setting it down on the table for her to eat at her leisure. After a couple of pointed looks from Sirius toward it, Hermione drifted into silence as she settled down to eat them. Charlie chuckled at the disgruntled twist of her face as she did so. Conversation flowed easily, mostly focusing on how muggles had used their lack of magic to create all sorts of interesting things. Charlie had a good knowledge of muggle contraptions thanks to his father, but most of it was vaguely wrong to hilarious, such as believing that muggles worship rubber ducks.

The day was mostly spent showing Charlie the muggle room and all the things it contained. They got bogged down in the Xbox and the games it contained, and with an extensive conversation about how muggles entertain themselves. Sirius left for a lunch date with the girl they all pretended that he wasn't dating, though they had been going out at least three times a week for over four months. Neither Hermione or Harry had met her yet, and there had been more than a few talks about why that was between the two of them, though neither had asked Sirius. Frankly, the man was entitled to have some things that he kept to himself.

By the time three o'clock rolled around, Sirius came back and everyone headed into bedrooms to get ready to head to the Weasleys. Charlie got dressed in just plain old jeans and a long-sleeved plaid shirt that covered his tattoos, as Molly was very disapproving of them. Hermione threw on a comfortable pair of black and floral leggings, with a long soft pink tunic style shirt and black flats. Comfort was the name of the game here. Hermione was vaguely nervous about remeeting Charlie's family as his mate and not just the orphaned girl Ron brought home sometimes during the summer.

Charlie watched her getting dressed, noting just how nervous she seemed. With a small smile he took her face between his large hands and asked her to look at him. When her tentative eyes met his, a large smile spread across his face. "I understand you are nervous. But Kitten. They already love you. They have loved you for years, and while this wasn't how they were expecting you to join the family, they're thrilled you did. Mom is already making noises about doing some extra knitting in the coming months, and I wouldn't be surprised she's so excited she knits you a whole closet of sweaters." Hermione laughed at the mental image of her closet stuffed so full of Weasley sweaters she couldn't close it properly.

Under Charlie's watchful gaze Hermione visibly relaxed, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves. "Thank you Charlie. I needed that." They shared a sweet kiss before leaving the room to meet the other boys. Harry was the epitome of comfortable in a pair of sweats and his Weasley sweater, and Sirius wasn't much better in a pair of holey jeans and a sweater that said "Save a horse, ride a wizard." Hermione just shook her head. Sirius and Molly seemed to have a running gag going about how Sirius was a bad influence on the younger people, and he took great joy in messing with her with his unorthodox clothing choices.

The floo wouldn't work for the Weasley's house, as their fireplace wasn't large enough, so apparition it was. With a spin, each of the quintet left, popping into the field outside of the Burrow. No one minded the trudge up the hill though. The weather was beautiful, perfect for a bit of a stroll. Hermione hesitated slightly before knocking on the door once they got to it, but Molly Weasley quickly put that to rest.

Flinging the door open, Molly enveloped her in a big hug. "Hermione! Why did you knock, girl? You're family! You just come right on in! Make yourself at home!" Charlie's chuckle met Hermione's ears and she turned to half-heartedly glare at him, but it took effort, because she loved the enthusiastic welcome.

Molly nearly dragged Hermione into the house, giving passing greetings to Harry and Sirius, but clearly her focus was on making sure Hermione knew just how happy the family was to add her to it. While Hermione kicked off her flats and threw them in the haphazard pile of shoes near the front door, Molly chattered. "I always knew you were going to be part of the family. I didn't expect this way, but how wonderful! What a shock it must have been coming into your inheritance!" At this Molly clucked much like a mother hen, bringing a small smile to Hermione's face. "Poor girl. Well. What's done is done, you're here now and we will take care of you now! You'll never need to face something like that alone again." With this Molly gave a definitive nod of her head, clearly daring anyone to tell her differently.

Arthur appeared around the corner. He ignored his son's small snarl as he folded Hermione into a hug. "Don't mind him. I'm an unmated male touching his mate he hasn't completed the bond with. He's a little touchy, but he knows I could take him out." Hermione laughed, because Arthur was clearly the smaller of the two men, which probably explained why he had never attracted a dracken mate. But if Charlie's chastised look was anything to go by, there was a great deal of respect and trust between the two men. "Welcome to the family, my dear. Please. Feel free to claim us as your own."

The look on Arthur's face let Hermione know there was more to this statement than met the eye, and at her confused look, Molly took it upon herself to explain. "In dracken culture, a submissive's family has certain… privileges. If ever there is a conflict between you and your mate or mates, your family will step in to house you and care for you. A submissive's family usually gets first dibs on watching grandchildren during heats, and a submissive's family is legally recognized by the dracken halls as a medical intermediary should you not have a surviving mate who could make medical decisions for you. Arthur…" With this Molly and Arthur shared an intense, knowing look. "We. Are offering to be your family. If ever there is a conflict, even with our son, we will be your safe haven, if you would have us. We will be your support system. Of course, that is always the case… but sometimes the drackens like the formalities dealt with."

Hermione reeled at what she was being offered so casually. A home. They were offering a home. Even at the potential expense of their own child. Logically she knew that Charlie would have aunts and uncles and potentially his brother Bill to stay with should anything happen, but that didn't change the fact that the offer was incredibly generous. Interacting with dracken society had taught her that family was everything to them, and who you were connected to was intensely important. The Weasleys were offering her their clout and protection in dracken society.

For a moment, that small child that grew up and fended for herself in the orphanage whispered, "You don't need them. You can be strong on your own. Getting close to people only hurts." But a larger part whispered back, "Being strong alone is admirable. But being strong doesn't mean you have to be alone. You can be strong and love and be loved by these people too…"

Her eyes filled with unexpected tears at the realization that she didn't have to be alone anymore. Molly Weasley rushed forward and enveloped her in a warm hug, gently running her hand across Hermione's curls, giving comfort and love. She murmured soft nothings, shushing and gently rocking Hermione for a moment. When Hermione finally relaxed and pulled away, Molly wiped her tears gently and then with a very business-like attitude. "Well then. That's that. You're part of the family now. I'd better get that roast before it burns."

Hermione grinned after Molly as she bustled away, the matter clearly settled in her mind. Arthur gave her another gentle hug and murmured to her that he would file all the relevant paperwork with the counsel. Charlie looped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side. With a tentative voice Hermione made the niggling doubt in her mind come to the forefront. "You… don't mind? They're…"

Charlie immediately shook his head. "They asked me as soon as they found out it was you. I know very well what it means, and I know what they are offering to you. I wouldn't have it any other way. You're my mate. I want you safe. I want you to have a support. I want you to have a family. My family has _lots_ of love to give. I can share them. Plus. Mom's love language is mostly feeding people, and we all know she always cooks too much. There's only so much a man can eat! So you see, it's a selfish wish on my part." His cheeky grin made Hermione chuckle, but the smile fell off her face when another red head opened his mouth.

"So. You actually showed up." Ron's sneer was enough to make Hermione's hackles rise and her face twist into an imperious glare.

"Yes, Ronald. I did. I have done nothing wrong. I chose a mate, a mate who loves me. There was nothing between us and there never would be."

Ron's face flushed an ugly shade of puce as he struggled for words for a moment before bursting out, "You were mine! I was the only one who would have you with your rats nest of hair and your stupid hand waving! If you weren't a dracken submissive, you'd be alone forever!" It was clear that Ron and the rest of the family expected these words to cut Hermione down, as the others stepped in to defend Hermione and Ron stood his ground. Everyone was shocked when Hermione slipped by all them and slapped Ron across the face with all the force her dracken body could muster. Ron fell to the ground, the angry red mark she left on his face rapidly turning to a livid blue bruise that spread across his eye to his chin.

"I. Am NOT. Worthless. You are a vile human being and if you were the last man on earth I wouldn't have you." She spat at him, in a deep rumbling growl, her eyes flashing dangerously and her teeth expanding to reveal her fangs.

It was this scene that the twins walked into. "Oi, Forge! We missed a good one, we did! Hermione decked Ron!" Thankfully, that broke the tension between Hermione and Ron. Hermione whipped away from him, struggling to control her primal urge to rip him to shreds. Charlie grabbed for Hermione, retreating across the room and giving into his drackens need to check her over for injury, while Molly grabbed Ron by the ear and led him out of the house, yelling at him so loudly that Hermione swore Luna would be able to hear it from over the hill.

Once Ron was out of the house and Charlie could swallow his need to rip into the one who had verbally assaulted his mate, he turned heated eyes to Hermione. "That was brilliant. The sexiest thing I've ever seen you do." When she flushed and smiled he kissed her briefly, "And I like your hand waving."

"Oi!" One of the twins called out. "Get a room!" The entire room burst into laughter, the strain completely gone.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

A/N: Thank you so so much to AlaskanAppaloosa, who has gone above and beyond in every way to be an amazing beta. I love you girl!

Thank you for the reviews! They breathe life into me! You comment and I inevitably want to keep writing more! The feedback loop is incredible.

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Molly came back into the house, grumbling under her breath about how did she manage to raise such a moronic child? Hermione smirked when her ears caught the strain of her muttering, but she schooled her expression when Molly turned to her with another smile. "Are you hungry, dear?" Molly shook her head at her own question, "That was silly. Of course you are. Look at how skinny you are. Come on, luv. Dinner's ready."

At that, the entire crew minus Ron headed into the kitchen, where the dining table was set with all sorts of treats. Roast beef, mash and gravy, green beans swimming in butter, Yorkshire puddings, and homemade stuffing bedecked the table. The smell had permeated the entire house, but when you passed the threshold of the kitchen it all but punched you in the face. Hermione's mouth watered and she was surprised by the grinding hunger in her stomach. Everyone sat down at the table, and Ron shuffled back in, his face still bruised and swollen. A dark part of Hermione's soul smiled at the fact that no one would heal him. He sat in the empty chair and stared at the plate in front of him, but a close look at his face showed that he was still angry.

Hermione was determined not to pay him any mind, leaning her head on Charlie's shoulder while everyone else got settled. Wizards had no equivalent to the muggle tradition of saying grace, but Arthur said a quick word about how lovely it was to be expanding the family. Ron snorted and one of the twins kicked him under the table. Harry was giving Ron the kind of look you gave scum on your shoe. Sirius was trading looks with the other twin that sent chills up Hermione's spine. Nothing good could come of looks like that between one of the Weasley twins and a Marauder. She almost felt bad for Ron. It passed quickly.

Dinner was more disorganized than Hermione was used to, but filled with lots of laughter and love. Charlie made her plate for her, only because he had longer arms to reach all the food that his siblings were fighting over. Why they had to fight over it was a mystery, as Molly had made enough food to feed an army, and it was not like it was running out anytime soon. It was nice to not have to explain her new taste in food to anyone though. It was just accepted that she wanted a very rare piece of meat, mash with a lot of meat gravy, and just a little bit of everything else. There were no comments about how weird it was that her piece was nearly rare, and in fact she wasn't the only one with a nearly blue piece of roast. Arthur, it seemed, had just gone with a slightly warmed piece rather than it be any sort of cooked food.

Eventually the conversation turned to the dracken lifestyle and specifically how men growing up dracken prepared for it. Because drackens were scented early in life, the young men took steps to assure their future financial success.

"I was always small for my age, so I resigned myself quite early in my life to the fact that I wouldn't attract a dracken mate. I still did all the preparation steps as other young dracken men, but it was with the knowledge that I would probably pass most of that onto my children who would get dracken mates." At Hermione's curious look, Arthur continued. "You must understand Hermione, you are a rarity. Most dracken submissives choose their mates on two criteria. Wealth, and physical beauty. I knew I didn't have the physical beauty part, but there was no reason that I couldn't have the wealth part down. Early in my life I started to save, making clever investments, setting aside every knut for the future."

Hermione kept her eyes clearly on her plate, trying not to look around at the ramshackle house around them. Arthur must have caught her self-restraint though, because he chuckled. "Yes. It seemed unlikely, yes? But each of my children will and do have a sizable inheritance, as well as the skills to multiply that money. Dracken families are not small. Even when we marry humans, we tend towards large families." A grin around the table confirmed just how much everyone loved this aspect of dracken life.

"Charlie gained access to that inheritance the minute his mating bond to you was made, and Bill gained his when he was married to Fleur. The others will gain their inheritances when they choose to settle down with their life mates. Molly and I have chosen to live a lifestyle more conducive to saving for our children. We are happy with our choices. They never lacked for anything they needed, but frivolity was not necessary." Thinking back, this was very much true. The Weasleys never lacked for textbooks or clothing. It wasn't always in style or brand new, but they were always warm and cared for. Hermione thought this was very practical and thoughtful of the Weasley parents, and her respect for them went up even more.

"Can I… ask a question?" Hermione tentatively queried, to a resounding 'of course' from everyone at the table.

"How…" Hermione took a deep steadying breath before she finished her sentence. "How does the multiple mate thing work? Like, do we divvy up days of the week? Who pays for what? What about the children? What if one man has a bunch of children and the others don't? What are the rules here?"

Amusement rippled over the table, and Harry's slight blush let be known that he had had similar thoughts, but wasn't brave enough to voice them. Molly and Arthur shared an amused look before Arthur turned to Hermione and said, "We had a feeling you would want to know. After dinner we will sit down and have a good chat about it."

With that conversation turned to more mundane things, how Ginny's new job playing professional Quidditch was going, how Bill and Fleur were adjusting to working together at Gringotts, and how Ron was doing in auror training. Ron's news was the only bad news, in that he wasn't doing well at the training. Hermione tried to contain the petty and slightly bitter side of herself that reveled in his failure, but mostly failed.

Throughout the meal, Molly kept putting bits of food on Hermione's plate with murmurs of how skinny she was, and eventually Hermione started subtly passing it onto Charlie's plate in turn. Arthur shared a smile with her when he caught her, but shrugged at his wife. Hermione just shook her head in exasperation, but Molly eventually slowed down, and Hermione was able to clear her plate.

After dinner, the others slowly drifted off across the house. Ron seemed to want to stick around, but a glare from Charlie had him moving on. Harry and Sirius however, remained, clearly interested in the conversation Arthur and Molly had promised.

Once the dining room was cleared, Arthur spoke. "Ok Hermione. Molly and I have talked, and we know you have a lot of questions. We are going to ask that for tonight, you choose your top three. We will answer those as thoroughly as we can." An amused smile passed over his face as he continued, "I suspect the kinds of questions you have will take extensive answers."

Hermione just gave a cheeky smile in response, because there was no point in denying the obvious. She took a moment to think before she asked her first question. "How do things work with multiple mates?"

Arthur laughed at the broad question, while Molly just gave an indulgent smile.

Charlie slung his arm across Hermione's shoulder, slowly pressing her into his chest. She leaned back and relaxed into him, sighing gently at the comforting touch. Molly beamed at the movement, while Arthur started to speak. "How 'things work' with multiple mates is very individual to each mating. My parents were a triad, and so I can tell you how they did things, and how my fathers prepared me for the potential of having multiple mates myself."

"That would be incredible." Hermione said, "So far everything I've learned has just been the 'here's what you need to survive the next few days' kind of information."

"That does make sense, my dear." Molly said, "You did have a rather traumatic couple of days, and drackens are notoriously closed-lipped with information about their kind."

Hermione nodded exasperatedly as Arthur continued. "How finances work with multiple mates is often divvied directly down the middle, or in portions as it were. Sometimes there is one particular mate who is much better off financially than the others, and they sometimes take on more of the financial burden. As most submissives stay home and care for the children, how a submissive's financial contributions are handled in a home is even more unknown." Hermione nodded, conjuring a piece of parchment and a ballpoint pen with a wave of her wand, taking notes.

"As for how things work sexually, that's very individual. If the mates are bisexual, there may be sexual contact in large groups, or things may be much more individual, with each mate only interacting with a submissive one-on-one except during heats. That is something that will probably have to be worked out within your mating, just like every couple. There are no 'norms' and no one would dare ask you about it."

Hermione studiously wrote down every word he said, adding her own notes. "That's a relief to know. What about children?"

"All mates will treat all the children as if they were their own, and usually parenting is done in conjunction with all mates."

"That's wonderful, it's nice to know that there won't be problems with who's parenting whose kids. Is there any way to know how many mates I will have?"

Arthur was already shaking his head before she was finished speaking. "No. There is a theory that the number of mates has to do with magical power, but no one has ever been able to accurately measure magical reserves. There are also rare cases where a submissive chose two mates who were already soul mates for each other, in the place of one mate."

Hermione left a note on her paper to do research into the magic of soul mates and how that affected mating bonds. "Ok. Last question. Is there anything you feel that I should know? Anything that dracken children are told that maybe I wouldn't know, but is essential to surviving in this world?"

Arthur took a moment to think before answering, "No. Just remember that how you work out your mateship doesn't have be like anyone else's. It just has to work for you and your mates. Don't try to live up to any 'dracken ideal'. Just do what works for you and you guys will be fine. Harry, Sirius, do either of you have any questions?"

Hermione had been so invested in her note-taking that she had nearly forgotten her dear friends were there. Both answered to the negative, with Harry adding a note that if he had any pressing questions, he could ask Neville. Molly nodded appreciatively, "That's a good boy from a good dracken family, he'll be an invaluable resource to you, Hermione." Hermione refrained from telling Molly and Arthur about her familial connection to Neville, mostly because she wasn't sure how Neville would feel about it, and the others seemed to take their cues from her.

"Thank you so much Arthur, Molly. I so appreciate you taking the time to speak to me."

Molly walked over and dragged Hermione up off Charlie's shoulder to give her a hug. "Psh, my girl. You're family. Of course we will answer your questions, and we will do our very best to make sure you are safe and cared for." Hermione snuggled into Molly for a moment as the boys and Arthur slowly drifted into the living room where the others had started a game of exploding snap. Seeing that Fred and George were playing, Hermione sat out, having learned her lesson long before. The twins cheated, and when Sirius joined the game, it was cheating on top of cheating and soon no one knew which way was up. Laughter drifted easily through the room, and Hermione was struck, as she always was when she was at the Weasleys, that this is what home must feel like.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

A/N: Thank you so much to my amazing beta AlaskanAppaloosa, who deals with my crazy and takes it and makes it into this.

You're all amazing with all your reviews, please continue! I LOVE reading every single one. They breath life into this story.

When I posted the previous chapter on Ao3 I got a comment that I had messed up the time line and Ginny shouldn't be playing Quidittch yet. You're correct! She shouldn't. I messed it up. I'll be going through soon and doing some adjusting to make the timeline cohesive, but for now, you're gonna have to live with it.

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The next week was spent getting to know one another, with Charlie and Hermione slowly pushing their physical relationship into more intimate spaces. The comfort grew between the two of them, which put Hermione's nerves at ease for her upcoming heat. Where as before she had felt that she would be embarking on this with a virtual stranger, she now felt settled and secure and ready for whatever came.

The universe was apparently determined to see if she really meant that.

Hermione and Charlie were relaxing on the couch together, Charlie reading 'Dragon Keepers Quarterly' and Hermione making notes about her dracken book, when the floo flared, startling them both. Bart politely asked to be admitted, and they let him through.

When Bart had stepped into the room and taken a seat in one of the comfortable chairs, he began to speak. "I just wanted you to know that we conducted a raid on the orphanage today."

Hermione's first instinct was to get upset that she hadn't been included, but it didn't take her long for her logic to snap in. She was newly mated, and Charlie would have been frantic if she had been invited to go along. It wouldn't have been fair to put him through that, even if she was an able fighter. As it was, she was a decent combatant when it came to survival, but overall was mediocre, though it took a lot for her to admit it even to herself. Bart had said 'conducted a raid', which implied a coordinated team going into the orphanage. No. This was not the kind of scenario where she would have been helpful.

"How did it go? Did you get the other girls out? What about the brother orphanage? Did you get the kind of evidence that you need to prosecute?" The questions tumbled from her tongue before she could rein them in, and Bart seemed to understand.

"The raids went well, we suffered no casualties. All the children were recovered, a grand total of fifty from the girls home, and sixty-five from the boys home. It's unknown how many are drackens and how many are normal human children. They are all being adopted out to dracken families in the United Kingdom." Hermione was thrilled with this, as it was the best possible result for the children. Homes with families who would understand what they were going through, and if they should turn into drackens at seventeen, family to support them.

Bart gave her a moment to process before continuing, "As for evidence to prosecute? That… depends on what you mean. We have evidence that those in the board of directors at the orphanages had complete knowledge of what happened to the children who disappeared on their seventeenth birthday, and directly profited from it. Most of the normal caretakers had no idea, and honestly thought they were caring for normal children. They were questioned under legilimency, then obliviated and repatriated to the muggle world when appropriate. Those who had knowledge of what was happening are being held for execution, which you, of course, are invited to attend."

Hermione nodded slowly, equal parts relieved that those who had had most of the direct contact with the girls had had no idea what was going on, and horrified that so many others did. "You said it depends?"

Bart sighed and nodded, "We have found evidence that the locations of dracken families who had chicks were fed to the poachers by someone in the dracken community, but no names and nothing to connect a specific person. There is a financial trail, but not much else."

Bile rose hot and thick in Hermione's throat at one of the men or women she had interacted with taking such a horrific step. To literally sell out your fellow drackens and their children. "How much?" She snarled, fangs bursting out of her gums.

Bart grimaced as he answered. "About a thousand galleons."

A furious snarl left her throat, and Charlie's hand rubbed her back, though he was shaking with his own effort to keep himself calm. Hermione's entire body trembled with her need to rend and tear. A thousand galleons. About six thousand pounds. That's what a family of drackens was worth, that's all it took to sell out your friends and family. To send them to their certain death, and their children to a certain parentless life, and a possible horrific young ending.

Hermione stalked to the wall and tore into the fancy wallpaper, shredding the plaster with her claws until she felt better. It took more time than she thought it would. When she felt in control enough, she stalked back to Charlie and tumbled into his lap, burying her face into his neck to inhale his scent. Together they let their emotions calm, and finally Hermione peeked back out at Bart. "There's nothing you can do?"

Bart shook his head sadly. "No. Just wait, and hope they slip up next time." Next time. Bile once again rose in her throat, but Hermione forced it down.

"Thank you for letting us know. Please keep us updated as to when the execution will be scheduled." Hermione said softly as she gave Bart a quick hug. Bart assured her he would, then said his goodbye's, leaving once again through the floo.

Hermione sunk into her thoughts for a moment, before she spoke up. "I'm glad they dealt with it. I… I don't know how to… feel I guess. They were terrible people. But it was my home. The younger children… I was involved with their lives. I changed their nappy's. I was the person they came to in the night when they had a nightmare, they were the only ones I really got along with there. Now I don't know where any of them are, or if I will ever see them again." Charlie listened attentively, nodding when it seemed appropriate, but to Hermione it was apparent that he didn't really know how to respond. "It's ok, Charlie. I know this situation is… unique. Even in my own head my feelings don't make much sense."

"Woah. Now hold up a second." Charlie said, gently spinning Hermione to look at him fully. "Your feelings are valid. These people hurt children. But they were also your caretakers for seventeen years. And the girls? Of course you were attached to them. I'd be worried if you hadn't made any significant investments over your life. Feelings don't have to be single-faceted to be valid." Taking a page from his mother's play book, Charlie folded Hermione into a bear hug, wrapping his arms around her frame and just holding her as she processed her feelings. Hermione snuggled into his chest, allowing herself to feel the intense mix of relief and sadness, of nostalgia and hatred, of homesickness and rage. At times the flood seemed so heavy that she swore she would break with it, but after what seemed like forever, she surfaced at the top of the storm. A glance at the clock showed her it had only been minutes they had been standing there in silence, but it had done her psyche a world of good.

"Thank you, Charlie." Hermione said, placing a small kiss on his mouth. "I needed that."

"I know, love. Let's get you something to eat, how does that sound?" Hermione grinned at how like his mother Charlie sounded as he urged her towards the kitchen and started to pull out some leftovers from the night before.

Charlie took his cue from her when it came to topics, and she steered the conversation to anything but her past. When Harry and Sirius came home, she gave them only the barest of details of what she knew, her tone letting it be known she didn't want to talk extensively about it. Thankfully, both of the young men let it drop, only giving her crushing hugs in response. Hermione laid awake that night in bed, processing her thoughts and feelings with a sense of surrealism, and if she was honest with herself, more than a bit of fear. There was someone out there who had intimate knowledge of the dracken world, and was selling those in it to poachers. As long as that person was on the loose, no one was safe. Did she really want children in a world like this? One where they would always be at risk? The swirling thoughts kept her up the majority of the night, and left her with thick blue bruises under her eyes that worried Charlie in the morning.

Much of the nights of the next week went similarly, until finally Charlie started making noises about her going to a mind healer. Hermione resisted, insisting that she was fine. Strangely, it was Harry who got through to her and broke her funk.

Unbeknownst to her, Harry had sent Charlie to his family's house, and Sirius to his girlfriend's. Hermione was sitting in the library reading when he cornered her and started to speak.

"You know, when I was taken from the Dursley's house, I was so relieved. But also kind of sad, in a weird way. It was a shitty home. But it was mine, even when I didn't want it. And leaving the house certainly didn't get rid of the danger lurking out there. Voldemort was still coming for me, for you, for Sirius. I still had to face him, and it used to keep me awake at night, thinking that all this amazing life I had built after leaving that hell hole… could disappear. That everyone I cared about could disappear. Because of someone I couldn't control."

Hermione, in his words, felt her own heart reflected back at her.

"You know what I did? I gave in. I couldn't control it all. I just couldn't." Hermione grimaced at this before Harry continued. "But I could control me. I could live my life in fear, waiting for the other shoe to drop, and miss it. All of this amazing thing that fate, God, whoever, had granted to me. Or. I could get up and live. I could step into the unknown and fight like hell to get to the other side." With this Harry crouched in front of Hermione, grasping her cheeks between his hands. "Don't let this unknown steal your life. Your amazing life. Don't let them win."

Hermione burst into hysterical tears at this, letting out all the tension of the past week in one torrential downpour. Between her sobs she called for Charlie, so Harry called him back with a patronus. It took all of three seconds for Hermione to fall into his arms and tearfully apologize. Charlie would hear none of it, vowing to do what he had to to set her anxiety at peace. Harry called Sirius as well, and soon they were in a large dog pile on the floor, talking over strategies to manage the crushing fear. Soon they had a plan for when the panic set in, and Hermione felt much more secure again. Not perfect. But it was rare anything in life was perfect.

A big bowl of popcorn and _The Lion King_ occupied the rest of the evening, and Charlie had to set aside his jealousy as Hermione regularly shifted from one man to other for snuggles and chatter. She eventually fell asleep snuggled in Charlie's arms, while Harry had slung an arm around her waist, and Sirius was laying across her lap.

Charlie rolled his eyes as Sirius thanked him for not ruining their relationship with this lovely woman. "I happen to like my balls. She'd kill me if I so much as breathed a word about ditching you two. Plus. You're ok, I guess." Sirius stuck his tongue out at Charlie before dozing off, and Charlie was the last to go, giving one sweeping look across the room to ensure everything was safe before drifting into sleep.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

A/N: As always, thank you to my amazing beta AlaskanAppaloosa, who takes my sloppy writing and doesn't judge and just fixes it so the rest of you can benefit! She's amazing. All the claps for Appy!

Thank you SO MUCH for the reviews! I LOVE every single one, it makes writing so much easier to read your feedback!

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Hermione was now pushing on four weeks after her and Charlie's mating bond, and the morning dawned bright and clear. The night before had been taken up with a visit from Neville, and Hermione was completely caught up in her thoughts about her long lost brother. Her relationship with him was growing well, but she had so far, not been able to make any progress in her relationship with Augusta. There was also the added strain of feeling both like she and Neville should fall into a family pattern, and the contrasting feeling that that was impossible because they weren't a family. They were just people who happened to be related by blood but not much else. Guilt and fear and frustration twirled in her mind, combined with an overwhelming sense of love and want that made for a confusing and thought consuming cocktail.

Charlie had been watching her like a hawk for changes to her diet signalling a change in her cycle, and it seemed today was the day. Suddenly Hermione couldn't stomach the meat set on the table for her, instead heading into the cold box and grabbing an apple, a nectarine, and a mango, all of which she proceeded to cut and devour. When she was finished, Charlie handed her a banana, having prepared for this change in her with extra fruit earlier in the week. Without a word she peeled it and munched a bit more slowly on it than the others, still consumed with her thoughts about her brother.

Harry, Sirius and Charlie were watching her with amusement, waiting for the realization to hit her. When it finally did, she gasped and whipped her head up. "I'm in the next part of my cycle!"

All three men burst into laughter at the shock in her face. "Well we did expect it soon." Charlie reminded her as he grabbed her peel and put it away. "Looks like you might be on a two-month cycle, but we'll see in two weeks if you end up moving onto grains. It might be a bit longer."

Hermione grimaced at the plate of bacon and sausages Harry had thoughtfully laid out for her. She appreciated the effort put in for her, but she moved them towards Charlie. "To think yesterday I would have happily devoured those. But today… today they make my stomach turn."

Harry was the one who cheekily piped up, "Welcome to my life, everything you eat makes my stomach turn." Hermione flicked an apple seed at him in retribution. Charlie tucked into the extra meat, happily munching away, while Hermione wondered just where it was all going. She swore the man had a hollow leg.

"Say, Kitten? When are you going to go back and conduct interviews with the other mates again? You're going to have to take one quite soon after this heat, right?"

The innocent question from Sirius set off a sharp spike of heat across Hermione's face. The reason she hadn't gone to interview any other mates was because Charlie's dracken couldn't handle it before they had been fully intimate. So far they had done everything but sex itself, and Hermione had planned on approaching Charlie about it tonight, but she didn't particularly want to explain this to Sirius.

"There has been… an extenuating circumstance that has made it so I cannot. But I plan to rectify it tonight."

If Charlie had been a dog, his ears would have been pricked and his tail would have wagged. He was clearly thrilled with this turn of events. If Hermione was honest with herself, she had been ready for this step in their relationship for quite awhile, but just hadn't been brave enough to ask. Breakfast continued as normal, and afterwards, Hermione drifted into her bedroom to do some straightening up. Clothes were spread from one end of the room to the other, along with shoes and other odds and ends. It was calming to focus on something so mundane. It seemed like the last month of her life had been caught up in her mating and her inheritance, and it was just now turning back once again to normal.

Hermione had curled up in her bedroom with one of her favourite childhood books to distract herself from thoughts of Neville, and it was curled up on her bed with '_Charlotte's Web'_ that Harry found her a couple hours later. A happy smile split his face at the familiar sight of Hermione in her jammies reading the well-worn book. "Hey 'Mione?"

It took a second for Hermione to clue in that Harry was speaking to her, but he was used to this. She always took a moment to disengage from a book. When Hermione lowered the book, tucking her finger in her page, he continued. "I was considering doing some shopping today in muggle London, and Charlie says his dracken can handle you being out of his sight for a bit, how do you feel about maybe coming with me?"

It didn't take long for Hermione to decide. The majority of this last month had been spent in Grimmauld place and the Burrow. Nothing Hermione said could convince Charlie to go back to work until their mating was completed fully by a heat, and he, until now, had been unable to handle being separated from her. It was, frankly, getting more than a bit claustrophobic in here, and as much as Hermione loved the Weasleys, she needed a break. She bounded out of the bed, heading to her closet and pulling on a pair of jeans and a navy t-shirt, grabbing her go-to prepacked purse, a simple black tote. A black cardigan and black flats rounded out the look. Her hair was down and wild, and Hermione didn't bother to try and contain it, as it just took too much time.

Harry, anticipating just how anxious Hermione would be to leave, was already ready to go. Hermione grabbed his arm and dragged him to the front door. "Let's go. Now."

Harry chuckled as he threw open the door, and they jogged down the path to the apparition point, with Hermione leading the way. They apparated to a small alleyway in London, and soon dug in deep to shopping. Hermione was on the hunt for pieces to add to the house her and Charlie were talking about starting the hunt for after she had chosen her next mate. Currently, Charlie had a few small things, but nothing to furnish a house, and Hermione had virtually nothing. Harry was on the prowl for some new formal wear pieces, finding that the social obligations he had as 'The Saviour of the Wizarding World' often required him to wear it. His one set of dress robes was getting quite worn, and he thought mixing it up with some muggle options would be wise, if only to expose some of the more stiff upper-lipped of wizarding society to them.

It took most of the afternoon to get their shopping done, but by the time they were finished, Harry had three handsome suits and other dress clothing pieces in a variety of complimentary colors for easy dressing. As Hermione put it to the shop girl, "Harry can't match basic colors on even a great day, so please make sure everything coordinates, so no matter what he grabs it'll work. We can't have the world thinking he's a color-blind toddler." Hermione, on the other hand, had found a couple of beautiful pieces at a vintage shop, a white king-sized bed frame that she suspected they would still have to alter with magic to fit all the mates. She had loved the beautiful scroll work on it, and couldn't leave without it. She had also found a couple pieces of art she loved at that same store, and all at reasonable prices, so they had come home with her as well.

When they got back to Grimmauld, Harry offered to take the pieces to Gringotts while she got dinner ready, which she readily agreed to. When she walked into the house though, it was clear something was different. The entire house smelled amazing for one, and two, the only light was flickering in the kitchen. Following the smell, she walked in to find the table set with what was clearly Charlie's adorable attempt at seduction. A bouquet of roses sat in the middle of the table, what she suspected was Mrs. Weasley's food was cooking on the stove, and candles lit the entire room, lending a soft and homey look to the entire set up. Charlie smiled a bit sheepishly as Hermione took it all in. "I know it's…"

"Beautiful. It's all beautiful." Hermione interrupted, walking over to wrap her arms around his neck and pull him down for a kiss.

"I was going to say 'cheesy', but beautiful works…" Charlie murmured against her lips, wrapping his arms around her and dragging her against his body. When she ground against him, he groaned and pulled away, "Wait. Mom gave clear instructions about how this food was to be cooked and served, and she told me if I screwed this up, I'd be no son of hers. So. Please sit, M'lady." He motioned to the table, and when Hermione moved to sit, pulled out her chair and tucked it under her bum when she sat.

With a flourish Charlie served the stuffed chicken breast that he had worked so hard on, along with a fresh fruit salad, grilled asparagus, and roast potatoes. Hermione wasn't particularly in the mood for the meat, but she nibbled at it as she ate far more of the vegetables than her mate. Conversation flowed easily and with laughter rang out across the room. When Charlie brought out the ugliest chocolate covered strawberries she had ever seen, she both laughed and kissed him, which led to the food being forgotten, and a very slow waltz to the bedroom.

It didn't occur to her until the next morning that Charlie had most definitely set up the whole night with her boys. She'd have to thank them later. Stretching a bit in bed, Hermione noticed she was a bit sore, but nothing she wouldn't expect after a night as active as hers had been. Planting a small kiss on Charlie's cheek, she crawled out of bed and into the tub, and it was there Charlie found her soaking out her aches.

"Good morning, Love. How're you feeling this morning?" Charlie had been particularly worried about hurting her, as drackens were larger than average humans, and instinct sometimes drove sex to be rougher than humans were typically used to as well.

"I'm feeling quite well, thank you." Hermione gave him a brilliant smile when he climbed into the tub with her. He was already reaching for the special shampoo that she used to keep her curls more under control. The barest amount was worked into her hair, followed by a rinse and nearly ungodly amounts of conditioner.

Hermione knew the moment that Sirius walked into the house, because he immediately yelled out. "Ok love birds! Playtime is over! Hey, Kitten! How's it feel to no longer be a virgin?" Hermione buried her face in Charlie's chest and groaned. Charlie just chuckled.

When they emerged from the bathroom, Hermione threw the handful of water she had been saving just for Sirius at him. He seemed to take this as a fair recompense for his questions. He spent the next two days teasing her mercilessly, but it all stopped when news came from the dracken counsel that the executions had been scheduled for the following day. The mood in the house was much more sedate that night, as the boys had been extended an invitation to attend as well. Both had chosen to go in support of Hermione, but neither was particularly looking forward to it. In contrast, Hermione and Charlie both struggled to contain the bloodlust that flooded their system at hearing that a judgment had been handed down. The boys chose to retire to bed early, which gave Hermione and Charlie plenty to time to work out the stress together.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

A/N: Thank you so much to AlaskanAppaloosa, who helped me be brave enough to split this chapter from one giant chapter 23 to two chapters!

Thank you so much for the reviews! Sorry to all of those who were expecting smut! The rating is T for a reason, it's not something I'm comfortable writing or my beta is comfortable beta'ing soooo... that's that. If that's why you were here, there are LOTS of fanfictions that will be more up your alley.

This is good but scary... well, I guess it is a bit dark? Maybe? There will be certain things that will be quite graphic, fair warning. No sex, but I imagine child birth will be explained quite thoroughly, as will a good bit of death and torture... so I mean... if you aren't into that? Sorry?

Can you guys let me know if you feel this should be moved to an 'M' rating just because of the violence?

I'd also like to note that I can only put four characters as main characters on SO. I will be changing the characters to include mates ONE chapter after that mate is chosen to avoid spoilers, but after that you're outta luck.

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The next morning dawned soggy and wet, which seemed to fit the mood of the house. The executions were scheduled at eight in the morning, which meant that everyone had to get up early, which made the boys even more moody. Neville joined them at Grimmauld for breakfast, and it was almost comical to see how happy he was for justice to be done next to the grumpy young men he was eating with. Overall the mood of the house was tense and strained, which made for a long morning.

By the time they all exited the floo at the dracken counsel halls, more than one apology had been given for hurt feeling due to snappy attitudes. The lobby was quite empty, but Charlie still kept Hermione tucked quite close to his side, while the boys took up spots on her other side and back. This gave her the feeling of being surrounded by a security team, which made her smile a bit. A few people called out greetings to Charlie and Neville as they walked through the hall towards the execution chamber, but no one stopped them to chat.

"If I was one of those prisoners… I'd be pissing my pants right now. You can feel the bloodlust in this building. Everyone is buzzing with it." Harry whispered the words in Hermione's ear, and she couldn't help but agree. The undercurrent of the dracken counsel hall and the drackens within was always quite intense, with a feeling of hidden power, but today that power was on full display. To Hermione it was a magnificent feeling that set her dracken purring, but she could see how a human would find it… disconcerting.

The execution hall was enormous, looking much like a stadium with seats all around and a main dais. The seats were slowly being filled, but Hermione and her entourage had reserved seats at the front in the first row. As they started to walk down the narrow aisles to their seats, Hermione caught sight of Lucius Malfoy walking towards them, and felt a small thrill at being able to talk to one of her potential mates again. Her eyes turned questioningly at Charlie, who nodded that it was appropriate for her to talk to Lucius, which made a large smile split her face.

"Ms. Granger, it's lovely to see you. It's unfortunate that it's in such tense circumstances." Lucius dipped into a deep bow at his waist, his lips gently brushing the top of the hand she extended to him. Charlie had explained that since a bond had already been made and consummated, it would take significant emotional upheaval and betrayal from him to create a new bond, so touching other males was perfectly acceptable. Apparently most submissives chose to consummate their relationships with their mates very early in the relationship, so that they could continue building bonds with their other potential mates as well. It was rare that one held off consummation like Hermione had.

"It's lovely to see you too, Lucius. It's certainly unique circumstances." Hermione nervously laughed, not sure how to make conversation in this kind of situation. What do you say to a man you'd potentially like to mate with while you're standing around waiting for an execution to start?

Thankfully, Lucius rescued her, clearly sensing just how nervous she was. "I see your mating with Mr. Weasley is well established, are you planning on continuing your mating meetings soon?" With another tone, the question could have come off as creepy, or whiny, but Lucius had framed it in a clearly conversational tone, which gave Hermione a chance to relax and think about something other than the upcoming spectacle.

"I think so. We wanted to wait until after the execution. It brought up some… intense feelings, that made me doubt my ability to make clear decisions." Worry and understanding flickered over Lucius' face before she continued, "But I'm thinking probably in the next few days we'll hold round two. From what I understand once I make up my mind, all the males I chose for second interviews will be recalled, which means I'll be seeing you?"

Lucius smiled indulgently at her, nodding. "Yes, you will. I have been… anticipating it. Very much." Lucius' voice dipped into a low growl, sending shivers up and down Hermione's spine.

Charlie smirked at the reaction, dipped down to whisper in her ear, "You like his voice. I'll have to remember that."

Lucius smirked as a soft red flush spread across Hermione's face. "What a pretty blush. I can't wait to see it again." The flirting made Hermione's blush darken, which made Charlie and Lucius chuckle.

At this point the dracken counsel made their way to the dais, and Lucius quickly said his goodbyes so they could get seated.

It took about five minutes before everyone in the room got settled, and when they did Gerard stood, his voice magically amplified to fill the entire room. "Ladies and Gentlemen, we are here to witness the execution of individuals sentenced by the dracken counsel to death. Their crimes are numerous and varied, but the primary crime is kidnapping, revealing of dracken status to poachers, and purposefully raising dracken young for slaughter." The room let out a collective growl at the announcement, the rumbling shaking Hermione's bones. Her dracken responded to the cacophony of growls with sheer joy, revelling in the rush. Harry and Sirius, on the other hand, sunk into their seats, clearly instinctively intimidated and fearful of the pure bloodlust in the room.

Dracken guards brought out the large movable cages they had stored the prisoners in, about fifteen all told. The drackens in the room went eerily silent as the first was forced out of the cage, and was made to stand in the middle of the stage in front of a masked man in full dracken form. To Hermione, his black oil-slick wings were unmistakable. Severus Snape was the dracken executioner today.

The first man fought desperately to get away, an unmistakable wet patch spreading across the front of his pants. There were no 'last words', no perfunctory statements. Only sharp claws swiping across the mans neck, spurting blood, and a body thrust forward to die in a heap on the floor.

The hall erupted in ecstatic roars of triumph as the body dropped. The rush of sound was breath-taking and heady to Hermione, though Harry and Sirius both flinched, snuggled deeper into their seats at the purely predatory sound.

One by one the offenders were brought forward and dispatched in the same way. The smell of blood and fear permeated the room, and the drackens got more rowdy as the executions went on. Harry was looking green around the gills, and Sirius had long ago looked away from the twitching pile of bodies. The drackens in the group, in contrast, felt invigorated and fulfilled with the justice being served to keep their families safe. The counsel member who had made sure to tell Hermione that she had to be home on her seventeenth birthday was led up, and caught Hermione's eye. Recognition dawned and rage flooded his face before the claws came down deep and fast.

When the final woman was put before Severus' claws, the room erupted in what Hermione could only explain as a roar of triumph. Her bones shook and her dracken preened in the blood lust.

It took some time before the drackens calmed down enough to slowly trickle out of the room. Hermione, the Weasleys, and Neville decided to stay back for a bit to let the crowds clear before they left.

Arthur took the time to pull Hermione aside and let her know that he was going to file the paperwork, and ask her if she wanted to come along. Hermione was just about to confirm she would like to come with when Neville piped up, "What paperwork?"


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

**A/N: ** Thank you so much to AlaskanAppaloosa, my amazing beta who makes all this possible!

Thank you for your reviews! 3

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Hermione felt all the blood drain from her face at the question. She hadn't been sure how to approach Neville about this situation. Frankly? Yes, he was her family, and she loved him. But he wasn't... someone she could depend on. That family bond took time to develop, and they just hadn't had that time yet. The Weasleys had been her extended family for years, with most of her spare summer time spent at the Burrow with the family. She trusted them.

Neville... Neville was great. But she didn't trust him in the same way. Not by any fault of his own, but simply because they hadn't been close that long.

But she supposed it was time to face the music.

With a deep sigh Hermione turned to face Neville, her eyes apologetic. "Well... You see..." Hermione hesitated for a moment before just blurting it out. "The Weasleys offered to be my surrogate family in the dracken world." At the hurt look in Neville's eyes, Hermione's own eyes drifted own to stare at her clenched hands. Behind her, Charlie stepped close and wrapped an arm around her chest, glaring at Neville, seemingly daring him to upset her.

Hermione took a deep breath before continuing, "It's just... I don't know Augusta and I know you're my brother but like... they're my family. They've always been my family and I just..." She drifted off, not daring to look up at Neville.

The silence stretched tense and still before Neville let out a sharp breath and finally spoke. "Well. I can't say I'm surprised. I... Don't get me wrong. It makes me upset that you don't trust me and Gran to take care of you like that, but I suppose I understand? I wish that..." Neville cut off with a frustrated growl, and when Hermione's eyes drifted up to look at him, he was twisting his hand in his hair, clearly struggling to keep himself under control. "I wish that this hadn't happened. I wish your dracken could trust us. I wish that I could assure you we could be the family you need."

Until this moment, Hermione had never considered that her dracken instincts had played a role in this decision, but as soon as he said it, she knew it was true. It wasn't Neville's fault, but that family had failed her once already, and her dracken knew it. Her dracken side looked at the Weasleys and saw everything she had longed for her entire life. When it looked at Neville and Augusta, all it saw was a human who had failed to keep her safe once before, and a young dracken who wouldn't be able to protect her adequately.

"I'm sorry." Hermione whispered to Neville, her voice filled with regret. "It's not that I don't love you. I do. I don't want to screw this up between us. I just... I'm sorry."

Neville turned pain-filled eyes to meet hers and said simply, "It's ok. I get it. I... I have to go. I think... I need a bit. I'll floo you tomorrow." With that he turned and left. Hermione promptly burst into tears, which sent Charlie into a flurry of movement. He gathered her into his arms, his orange wings bursting from his back and folding around them to keep her moment of grief as private as was possible, all the while his sharp eyes patrolled the room, daring anyone to take a swipe at what was his.

Unknown to Hermione, Harry and Sirius had been watching the entire exchange. When they saw Neville bolt, they shared a look, both knowing that in this moment, Neville needed someone more than Hermione did. When Harry stepped towards Hermione, Charlie's wings opened to admit him, but stayed curled tightly against others.

"'Mione. We are gonna go help Neville, ok? You have Charlie. Neville has no one unless you count Augusta, and we don't." Harry whispered the words in Hermione's ear, but apparently Charlie's hearing was strong enough to hear it as well because he let out a low growl. Choosing to support another over his mate? Never.

"Charlie. Stop. They're right." Hermione studdered through the tears. "I have you. Neville just got told something heart breaking and hard." She turned puffy red eyes to Harry, swiping the back of her hand across her face to clear some of the tears. "Tell him I love him. Don't do anything to stupid. Remember that you only get one liver."

Harry gave her a cheeky grin in response, "No promises about the 'not doing anything stupid' thing, but I'll send your love. Don't wait up for us." Together Harry and Sirius left, Sirius stepping over to give Hermione a quick hug and a 'see you tomorrow' before they disappeared into the floo. Charlie slowly relaxed as Hermione calmed down, his wings slowly retracting, allowing her to face one of the few faces left behind in the auditorium, namely Arthur Weasley.

"So. Want to explain?" The question was posed without malice, but was clearly a demand all the same. In a rush, the words tumbled from Hermione's mouth, explaining everything. How Neville was her sibling, how she had been taken from her parents, how she had been unable to stomach a relationship with Augusta, how lost and alone she felt. How the guilt about not being able to form those instant familial bonds with her long lost family pressed in on her, crushing her with it's condemnation.

Hermione jumped in shock when it wasn't Arthur who responded to the tumble of words, but rather Severus who spoke from behind her. "I had never taken you for a dunderhead before, don't become one now." She spun around, intending to snap at him, but found him in dracken form still, covered in blood and gore, leaning heavily on Lucius Malfoy. The blonde man had him in a tight, obviously protective embrace, but he nodded when Severus spoke again. "Your guilt is, I suppose, understandable, and perhaps even admirable. But misplaced. Blood does not make family. My own father was an alcoholic who beat me and my mother on a regular basis. He was and is not my family just because he shares my DNA. What makes family is love. Care. Loyalty. Trust." Snape shared a look with Lucius that made Hermione's toes curl in a delicious way. "And that, Ms. Granger. Takes time. Shared experience. In time, it may come with your birth family. For now, feel no guilt assimilating into the family that has chosen you, and please accept my best wishes in the endeavor."

Lucius swept a lank piece of hair out of Severus' face, prompting a smile from Hermione, before he too spoke. "And my best as well. I, for one, am thrilled to know that you will be well protected in a family such as the Weasleys. They are a strong dracken family, and very well respected." Arthur stood up a little straighter at the praise. "I, for one, will sleep better knowing you are well protected in such a family."

If the intimacy of the interactions between Severus and Lucius shocked Arthur, he chose to keep silent. Hermione, on the other hand, had no such compunctions. "Thank you... You two seem... close?"

Severus chuckled dryly at her inquiry, turning dark eyes to Lucius' bright ones. "We have always been close, it was Lucius who helped me through my initial transformation. It was I who helped Lucius when 'Cissa died. We... depend on one another. We are each other's family." Lucius nodded, clearly thrilled at the evaluation of their relationship. Severus turned tired eyes to Hermione, seeming to not have the strength to smile anymore. "Please forgive me. We must go. The executions are... difficult on me. My dracken needs to feed. We hope we will see you again soon." Neither man moved to touch her in any way, and for the first time Hermione looked deeply at both of them, seeing with clear eyes just how tense they both were. Both men had claws and teeth on full display, and Severus' wings were fluttering frantically. Every vein on his neck was tight and throbbing, and he was clearly struggling to keep his dracken under control. Compassion flooded Hermione's psyche, and her heart broke for the man who continued to sacrifice himself for those around him.

"Please. Go. Care for yourself. Be safe." Lucius had already started half dragging Severus to the floo, nodding to Hermione in goodbye before calling out a remote forest in Scotland as their destination.

"He's going to have a rough couple of days." Arthur whispered as he watched them go. "When the dracken gets consumed with blood lust like that... it can take awhile to come down. A long time ago, when we lived as beasts, our entire lives were spent in that state, feral and bloodthirsty. It still lurks, just under the surface." Arthur seemed to ponder for a moment before he continued, "It's good he has someone with him who will understand what he is going through."

The words seemed so filled with meaning that Hermione turned to look at Arthur, spinning a bit in Charlie's arms. "What do you mean?"

Arthur examined her for a moment before speaking. "I only am telling you this, because you are clearly considering Lucius Malfoy for one of your next mates." Hermione nodded, but declined to comment on the choice. "Abraxas Malfoy was always a hard man. It is easy for a dracken male to become... harsh. Demanding, on their mate. It's in our nature to be passionate, and sometimes that passion becomes bent, twisted. Sometimes it turns to something dark, and that's when the dracken counsel steps in." Arthur took a deep breath, seeming to steel himself for the upcoming statement. "When Lucius was, oh, I'd say about seventeen? The dracken counsel was called to intervene in their family. Now, to be clear Hermione, it's not often the counsel is called in for family matters... but this. This was... It was horrific." Arthur swallowed heavily, his eyes distant and sad, "Lucius' mother, Druella, was dracken, but had been unable to produce more children after Lucius. She would become pregnant as normal, but then would lose the children early in the pregnancy. Eventually, it broke her. Her heats stopped, her dracken seeming to know that if they were to lose another clutch, it would break her. Abraxas though... he couldn't stand it. He saw her as... defective. So when she had her first heat in five years and failed to keep the children... he sank into his dracken's feral side." Arthur shuddered in revulsion before continuing. "He killed her that night." Hermione gasped in horror, her hand flying to her mouth, her entire body turning into Charlie's to be craddled more firmly to his chest even as Charlie's arms wrapped more tightly around her, "His dracken... deemed her a defective mate. When they pulled him before the counsel for sentencing... Abraxas was lost in his mind, completely feral, unable to even speak coherently. He was executed as a mercy and as justice. Lucius was there when it was done. He understands better than anyone what a feral dracken is capable of."

Hermione's eyes welled again with tears at the horror Lucius had endured. "Why tell me this?" She inquired of Arthur, who looked at her grimly.

"Because I believe those two, Severus and Lucius, are a soul mate pair. I believe if you are going to take one, you will have to take the other. I believe that you will find that they are both fierce protectors, and intense lovers. But you may also find that their passion runs deep, and not always pure. Severus did not lie about his father being an abusive bastard. He was put down not long before Lucius' own father was. Those men... they are the strongest men I know. They are also some of the most broken. You deserve to know what you are getting into with them." At this Arthur turned to leave, giving Hermione and Charlie time to think about what he had said.

After Arthur had left through the floo, Hermione turned to look at Charlie, who sighed long-sufferingly. "That speech did not have the desired effect, did it?" He quipped, grinning down at her. Hermione's returned grin and simple head shake made him sigh again. "I suppose you just chose your next mate. Mates. I wonder how that works on the total count?" Rather than being alarmed or upset, Charlie mostly seemed amused. "You always were one to take on the lost and the broken. When we hold the next meetings, we'll be sure to focus on Lucius and Severus. At least they're hot."

Hermione outright laughed at this, throwing her head back and nodding. "Yes. Yes they are. Let's go home."


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

**A/N: **As always, thank you so so much to my beta AlaskanAppaloosa, who is the best beta anyone has ever seen. You should all be jealous of how amazing she is.

Thank you very much for all the reviews!

I'm so sorry updates have been slow, to be honest, this week has been freaking rough. Everyone got sick, and when you have 5 kids, sickness takes awhile to go through a house! And then because of it, my son had a medical complication that they thought was liver failure... so a huge bunch of tests and such later... he's fine, but I'm frazzled and frayed. BUT. We're fine, he's fine and not dying, and I'm back to writing!

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Harry and Sirius were unceremoniously awoken the next morning by Hermione throwing open the curtains in Sirius' bedroom, where they had crashed after getting home. Thankfully, she was prepared with a sober-up and hangover cure potion, but the boys still didn't appreciate her encroaching on their sleep.

Hermione didn't give them much time to fully wake up before she was peppering them with questions. "How is he?" was the most frequently asked, but "Did I crush his soul?" and "Does he ever want to speak to me again?" also made appearances.

To get the verbal onslaught to halt, Harry threw up his hands in surrender. "He's ok. Hurt. Sad, but understanding. He is coming over today to talk and get to know you better. It's not even you he's really mad at. It's the situation. It's Augusta. It's... fate, I suppose."

Sirius was nodding along as Harry spoke, before piping in with his take. "The boy is angry, but not at you. I thought he was gonna march right out of the pub and kill Augusta last night. Speaking of which, Harry-boy. I owe you twenty galleons."

"Yes, old man, you do. I told you he wouldn't risk Azkaban and losing Hermione over killing Augusta, dracken instincts or no." Sirius scoffed and threw his pillow at Harry, who then promptly threw it at Hermione, which of course, started a full on pillow war. It ended badly for Sirius, with Harry and Hermione choosing to gang up on him and sending him retreating under the covers to protect himself. It was a bad call on his part, because suddenly he had two very giggly teenagers sitting on him.

"Wow, Hermione! This bed is lumpy!" Harry giggled as he ground his bony bum into Sirius' shoulders.

"Don't I know it, Harry! Better wiggle around more, maybe we can make the lumps settle out!" Hermione quipped back as she jumped a bit on Sirius' legs.

Sirius threw the blanket over his head and gasped out "I surrender! Just get off my back!" Harry and Hermione paused for a moment to consider before both moving to his legs, which prompted a growl of frustration. "That's it! I'm tattling to Molly! Disrespectful to your elders! Rude, obnoxious children!" The laughter permeating his voice betrayed him.

Harry and Hermione jumped off sharply, both gasping in horror. "Oh no! Have we hurt you? We wouldn't want to be called up for elder-abuse!"

"Can we get you some prune juice? Maybe a hot water bottle for your sore back?" Harry answered, then both took off screaming in laughter as Sirius jumped out of bed, swearing that when he caught them, they'd regret their words.

Charlie found them a couple minutes later chasing each other around the table in the kitchen, laughing and heckling one another. He smiled and shook his head. "It's sad when I'm the mature one in this relationship." He moved to the stove and started preparing some eggs for the boys, and cutting up fruit for Hermione. By the time Sirius got his hands on Hermione and started tickling her, Charlie was almost finished. He gave Sirius another moment to exact revenge before hollering out over the din, "Oi! You lot! Breakfast is ready!"

The three called an immediate truce and headed to the table, all flush with laughter. When Charlie settled himself on a chair, Hermione took the opportunity to sit on his lap bridal style, throwing her arms around him and giving him a deep kiss. "Good morning, my love!" Charlie's resulting smile made Hermione's heart flutter. Another peck on his lips was all she allowed herself before turning to the table and the offerings on it. Her nose wrinkled at the eggs, but she happily tucked into a bowl of sliced kiwi and mango with small bits of strawberry thrown in for balance. It was exactly what she had been craving.

Small talk dominated the table until Hermione heard the floo flare. Neville let himself into the kitchen at Harry's holler to 'Just get in here!'. He barely had time to prepare before Hermione slammed into him, her arms wrapping around his waist.

"I'm so sorry, Neville! I didn't mean to hurt you! Please don't be angry with me. I couldn't bear for you to hate me." Hermione whispered against his chest, breaking his heart a bit.

"Oh, Hermione." Neville sighed, leaning his head down on hers. "I could never hate you. I just... I don't know. I suppose I had this romantic idea that we would just go straight into being a family, you know? Instead this thing is big and complicated, and not easy at all."

Hermione nodded slowly, pulling back to look Neville in the eyes. "This is hard, and big and complicated. But it's ours. We can do it. I want to be your sister. I want to make you a part of my family, and I want to be a part of yours. I think we just... need to let go of the idea that that is just... going to happen. We need to be purposeful in this." Hermione's eyes glinted a slightly manic spark before she said, "We need a battle plan!"

This was the point that Harry intervened. "You can't _plan_ family, Hermione! No battle plan. But maybe purposeful inclusion of the other in your lives would be wise." Sirius was giggling at the idea of Hermione mandating 'must know fifty facts about Neville by this date', 'must have family time at least three times a week for thirty minutes minimum' and 'Must love Neville by this date'. Only Hermione would think she could manufacture familial love with a properly laid out plan. Charlie rolled his eyes to the ceiling and shook his head at his mate's antics.

"Hey!" Hermione protested. "I could make it work!"

"We have no doubt of that, Kitten." Sirius said, "But you could also stress yourself and Neville out so much that you never want to look at one another again."

Harry snorted and nodded, though Neville protested that he could never get tired of her.

"That. That's what we mean." Harry said, shaking his head. "Of course you'll get tired of her. That's what family does! You don't always think the sun shines out the other ones' butt! Sometimes Hermione is stubborn nag who makes you want to rip your hair out!" Hermione squawked in protest as Charlie and Sirius nodded knowingly.

Sirius raised an eyebrow at her as she stepped away from Neville, clearly preparing to argue. "Really? You're going to argue that?" His penetrating look caused a flush to break out on her face.

"Well... well..." Hermione sputtered before blurting out petulantly, "Yeah well Harry is never able to state his needs, and Sirius is so immature that sometimes I hate him, and Charlie snores so loudly he could wake a dragon!"

The room exploded in laughter, and Neville joined this time, promising he would try to look at Hermione's bad side as well. Charlie invited Neville to eat breakfast, which he, as a seventeen year old man who had just eaten a full breakfast... of course happily agreed to, tucking into some eggs.

When Neville noticed Hermione was eating fruit, the conversation turned to how far into her cycle she was, with plenty of speculation about how it would be. Neville and Hermione were hopeful it was on the longer end, while Charlie and Harry had a feeling that it was on the shorter side of the general 'two-ish months' they currently had. Sirius declined to comment, saying he didn't want to think about Hermione's dracken cycles anymore than he had cared to know about her human ones.

That conversation led easily into the choosing of mates, and Hermione told the boys what she had learned about Severus and Lucius. Harry seemed a little perplexed. "If.. they're each other's soul mate.. why would they need you?" Hermione had actually been wondering this same thing privately, so she turned to Charlie for an answer.

"Soul mates aren't like that in the magical world, Harry. Soul mates aren't your one true romantic mate. Rather, they are someone whose magic is the other half of your own. Someone whose heart is so deeply knit with your own, you couldn't separate it. Many soul mate pairs spend their entire lives being simply the closest of platonic friends. That Severus and Lucius have made their relationship sexual doesn't surprise me, but it wouldn't have surprised me either if they had simply been the best of friends."

Neville nodded along as Charlie spoke, piping up after he had finished. "My mum's soul mate was certainly not my dad." Hermione turned curious eyes to him at this. She didn't know much about her birth parents. "Mum's soul mate was a friend of hers named Marlene. They were best friends. Marlene died early in the war, and Mum was crushed. My grandmother always warned me to treasure my soul mate if ever I should find them, because they were a precious gift from fate."

Hermione pondered this for a moment before asking "Is there any way to test who your soul mate is?"

This led to nods across the table, but a caution from Charlie. "Yes... but just... sometimes people do the spell and a name pops up. It's not who you thought, and people have wasted away their entire lives chasing that one person, missing out on all the rest life has to offer, only to find that when, if ever, they found them? That person just wasn't interested in a relationship, or is a muggle and has to be separated from a big portion of their lives... Sometimes it's heartbreaking."

Sirius hesitated for a moment before saying, "I took it once, a long time ago, while I was young and stupid. I still have no idea who the woman is. Her name was Melinda Crawley. I spent about three weeks pining after her before Prongs ordered me to snap out of it and threatened to hire a hooker to seduce me if I didn't."

Harry turned a deep red color at this, while the rest of the table burst into laughter. The next hour was filled with stories of hilarious things friends had made them do. Hermione won with 'Harry convinced Ron to jump down a hole in a bathroom and try to fight a basilisk with him.'. Charlie was a close second with 'A friend of mine convinced me to help him get a sick hatchling from a raging mama dragon. Burned off eighty percent of my body hair.'

Unfortunately, at about eleven, Charlie and Hermione had to go to the dracken counsel halls and set up the arrangements for the next set of mate meetings. Hugs were given all around before they set off, and Hermione invited Neville to stay until or come back for dinner so they could talk again. Neville happily agreed, saying he would bring some wine, to cheering from Harry and Sirius.

Hermione laughed a bit, waving one more goodbye before she and Charlie disappeared into the floo.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

**A/N: **Thank you to my beta AlaskanAppaloosa! You make this fun!

Thank you all for your reviews, I love reading every single one!

I'm sorry I haven't been updating, but frankly? I hit a writing slump. I just had no will to write, and every time I did, I would just hate everything I wrote. So finally I just said "Just take a break. 4 chapters a week isn't always sustainable. Anyone who doesn't like it, it's ok, they can read someone else." I had a plan for how I wanted the next chapters to go, but the transition was escaping me, and so I thought, take the break, work it out.

So I did, and now I want to write again! SO. You get a chapter! :D Frankly, I still don't know perfectly how I want that transition to work. But whatever. It'll happen. :P

I'd like to note that I probably will be slowing down a bit with posting chapters. I just am finding the pace hard to keep up with.

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Hermione was relieved to see the dracken halls were once again quiet, though the scent of blood lingered on the air. She assumed it would take quite the cleaning to scrub the enticing smell from the floors in the auditorium. Charlie had informed her that the executed bodies were magically cleaned of all trace from the executioner, then cremated and returned to their families, though there had once been strong proponents for devouring the bodies or burning them into particle dust for the sake of keeping their society safe. Many of the older families who married only other drackens and had very little interaction with the human world adopted very brutal practices, and unfortunately, they were quite high up in the hierarchy of dracken society. This meant that a very small but intensely vocal group had a habit of having to be smacked down by the quiet majority.

As Hermione listened to the explanation, the idea that she should be working towards a spot on the dracken counsel developed and made itself very much at home in her brain. The counsel obviously needed some new blood, and growing up muggle had given her a unique perspective that the dracken world was apparently completely missing. This propensity to not allow new voices to speak out was not unique to the dracken world, as the wizarding world had it as well, with it being nearly impossible to rise in the ministry as a muggle-born.

The wizengamot was run purely by old pureblood families, and they voted on every major law that was proposed. Some of their wives would be muggle-born, which would affect things for the better, but the majority of the time, it was the same people voting for generations. It was infuriating. The muggle world had so much to offer the wizarding world in the realms of technology or innovation, but because they refused to allow in 'outsiders', and forced muggle-borns to abandon their families at seventeen when they graduated Hogwarts... there was never an infusion of new ideas, of new thought.

For Hermione, whose entire being was caught up in the near-manic acquiring of knowledge, it was unthinkable that well over ninety percent of the population and its combined knowledge would be declared anathema. It was the most heinous of crimes.

In that moment she decided that she would do whatever she had to to gain a spot on the counsel and change things for the better in the dracken world. And when Hermione set her mind to something, it didn't take long to happen.

Charlie had been patiently waiting for her to finish processing, but if the last weeks had taught him anything, it was that he couldn't be held up every time Hermione wanted to think something through. It happened multiple times a day, and even Hermione herself admitted that it took over her life sometimes. After a couple of minutes he poked her, but seeing no change, Charlie sighed and grabbed her hand, walking her gently to the secretary, who seemed amused at his predicament.

The secretary chuckled as she checked her planner for any conflicting events to the dates they wanted for the next mating meetings, "You know, in the papers, all you see is how brilliant she is and how she got Harry Potter through the war. I guess I never considered the ramifications of having such a brilliant mind. She does this a lot doesn't she?"

With a long-suffering sigh, Charlie nodded. "All day long sometimes. Don't get me wrong, once the woman gets going, she's a force of nature. But the sheer amount of brain power she puts into everything is staggering."

"She's right here and she can hear you." Hermione grumbled, rolling her eyes. "Of course it takes a lot of brain power! Calculating variables, considering all options... it takes time! I'm not a supercomputer." A longing sigh left her at the idea of being able to compute that fast, to a chuckle from her mate and the secretary.

After confirming that the date they had talked about for the hopefully final mating meeting was free, Charlie and Hermione stayed to chat a bit with the secretary. She was very frustrated with just how dirty the hall had gotten the day before, because "You would think grown men and women would know to take their trash and bodily fluids with them." Apparently some of the couples had gotten a little too involved in their feral sides and had snuck into closets or unused rooms to take care of business, and rarely cleaned up after themselves. The janitorial staff was having a heck of a time with it. Hermione shared with the frazzled woman some of the spells she had been working on for repelling fluid and dirt from fabrics and surfaces, which the woman seemed to find interesting not only for the dracken halls. Most dracken families had multiple children, and all often very young, which meant spit up, snot, and various other bodily fluids were common. The woman, who suddenly gave her name as Hilary, saw immediate application for spells such as those in a family setting.

After a lengthy conversation and exchanging of floo addresses with Hilary, Hermione and Charlie were preparing to leave when Hermione caught a whiff of something familiar. Her head whipped around to see Severus coming down the hall, clutching a manilla envelope in his hands. When she called out to him in greeting, it was a relief to see a full smile break out on his face. "Ms. Granger. This is an unexpected pleasure."

Hermione beamed back at him, "We came to book the next set of mating meetings. I didn't expect to see you."

Snape raised the envelope in his hand. "Execution has a lot of paperwork, and I had to do separate sets for each body. It was tedious, but is finally done. I came in early this morning to get it finished."

Hermione nodded, "Ah, the joys of bureaucracy... Are you... are you ok?" Genuine concern was all over her face, and Severus smiled softly at it.

"Yes, I am fine, thank you for asking. Lucius took me home last night and plied me with a great deal of chocolate, a couple of bears, and ranting about dunderheads. It was quite enjoyable."

"A... couple of bears?" Hermione was puzzled before Charlie piped in.

"Yeah. Hunting bears is fun. They're one of the few animals that could actually do real damage if they wanted. It's a great release for stress. Requires you to use your whole brain, and the sheer rush of the kill is..." A rumbling growl started in Charlie's chest, which was met by Severus's nod and answering snarl.

"Indeed."

Hermione on the other hand, heard only 'One of the animals that can do real harm'. Before she could control the urge, she started to examine Severus, walking around his body, peering at him from all angles. He obligingly lifted his arms and moved his legs so she could be sure all his extremities worked properly. "I assure you, Ms. Granger, I am quite fine. I thank you for your concern though."

Hermione grumbled about men who insisted on putting themselves in danger, before stepping away from Severus. "So, what are you up to for the rest of the day, Severus?"

"I had planned on spending it with Lucius, and we were planning on having a quiet evening at home."

Hermione exchanged a look with Charlie before extending an invitation. "We're having Neville over tonight, and of course, the boys will be there as well, and I'm cooking... would you like to join us at Grimmauld, both you and Lucius? We'd be thrilled to have you."

"I would be thrilled to join you for dinner, and I'm positive Lucius would be happy to as well. Could we bring anything? Please be aware that 'no' is not a good answer with Mr. Popinjay. If you don't give him something to bring, he'll bring everything." Loving frustration was evidenced in Severus' tone, and Hermione giggled before considering.

"I was thinking of doing just tacos, and Neville is bringing wine... could Lucius maybe bring some flowers for on the table?" Suddenly, the realization that she was going to make prim and proper Lucius Malfoy eat homemade tacos hit her and she full on laughed, explaining in gasping words to the others her laughter, which set Charlie to laughing, and soon even Severus was chuckling.

"Remind me to get a pensieve memory." Severus said with a grin, which set Hermione into a peel of laughter again.

"Bribery material for the rest of his life?" Hermione giggled, but Charlie had his own opinion.

"Hey! If he's gonna be mating with us, he better get used to more finger foods, I can't handle this 'fancy foods all the time' thing. He'll be eating a lot of tacos if he's gonna join us!" This was the first time that the intention to take one of the men as a mate had been voiced in front of Severus, and Hermione watched as his face fell at being passed over.

"Severus. Look at me please." Hermione whispered, smiling when his eyes slowly met her own. "We aren't going to take one and not the other. We are hoping to take both of you. You're soul mates, aren't you?" When Severus nodded, Hermione's smile grew. "Good. I still have a heat to go through with Charlie, but we have both agreed that we would like to pursue you and Lucius. Please, let us get to know you better."

Severus seemed almost puzzled as he nodded, then started a bit, giving apologies that he had to leave because Lucius was expecting him. Before he left, Severus gave Hermione a tentative hug and kiss on the cheek, which made her blush prettily. "I'll see you both tonight. And no promises that Mr. Popinjay will be able to bring only flowers. I'll try." Charlie and Hermione chuckled and waved goodbye before turning to one another.

"Well. That was a productive meeting." Hermione said, to a small laugh from Charlie.

"Yes. Yes, Kitten it was very productive. Let's go home."


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

A/N: Thank you so much for all your support!

As always, my beta AlaskanAppaloosa is the greatest and you should all be jealous. She's fantastic.

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When Harry and Sirius returned from their fast food run and found Hermione in an apron and bandana, they tried to turn around and leave, but they had already been seen. "Boys! I need your help! Severus, Lucius, and Neville are coming over tonight. Everything needs to be perfect. Get into some cleaning clothes and help me scrub this place!"

Harry sighed and nodded, but Sirius grumbled. "Right. Can't have people think we actually live here. No. We are robots whose house somehow never accumulates dust."

"I heard that Sirius Black!" Hermione yelled from in the kitchen where she was scrubbing the base boards.

"How is it you can't hear me two feet away when you're reading, but you can hear me just fine when I insult you three rooms away?" Sirius hollered back, grumbling as he pulled his long hair back into a bun.

"What? I couldn't hear you. Just clean the sitting room, it needs a dusting."

Sirius sighed and shook his head, heading into his bedroom to throw on an old t-shirt and ripped up sweatpants before digging into the sitting room. Harry, for his part, was set to cleaning the bathrooms fully. Charlie had been tasked with making sure all the floors were properly swept and mopped. Hermione didn't particularly care if it was unlikely Lucius or Severus would see it. If it was in the house and they _might_ see it, she wanted it clean. Sparkling clean.

While the boys set about cleaning the other rooms, Hermione turned her wand to the kitchen and dining room. First, she charmed a knife to chop up green and red peppers, onion, and lettuce. She then threw on the ground beef to brown, and started scrubbing the counters. Yes, a spell could do it, but personally she found that the spells always left a strange residue, and sometimes they missed the corners. Hermione hated missing the corners. The orphanage had been rigorous in teaching children how to properly care for a home, a throw back to the age when most girls went into service at noble houses. On one hand, Hermione not had a deft hand at managing large households, something she was sure would come in handy later if dracken birth rates were anything to go by... but also during the summers and holidays that she didn't spend with the Weasleys, there had been very little time for extra studies, which had made her incredibly frustrated. Surely there had to be more to life than cleaning?

This attitude meant that Hermione's house was always well kept, but not always spotless, and she refused to give her life over to the chore of constantly keeping a house. Usually that worked well for her, and it certainly was a relief to her boys that she wasn't always down their throats. On the other hand, God forbid that her house not be spic and span when a guest came over.

The boys had very different reactions to Hermione's cleaning campaigns when they happened. Harry was already quite adept at cleaning, and quite efficient, and so it didn't bother him at all to just buckle down and do it. Sirius on the other hand. Sirius had needed extensive lessons on how to clean so he wasn't inhaling his own filth, let alone how to clean well or efficiently. It had taken what seemed like forever to clean out Grimmauld to her standards, and Sirius had gotten lots of practice. He was now pretty well trained to clean, but he often skipped corners, which drove Hermione completely insane. It was one of the few things that they honestly fought about. Sirius didn't understand why Hermione needed everything so clean, and Hermione didn't understand how Sirius would be ok living in filth.

Thankfully Molly Weasley had taught her boys well, and Charlie was a deft hand at cleaning. Hermione was singing a bit as she cleaned, and in response Sirius dragged the blue tooth speaker and her cellphone out of the muggle room, putting on music and drowning out her 'absolutely tooth-grating voice'. With a laugh Hermione conceded her voice truly was awful.

The range of music that flowed over the speaker was baffling. For Hermione, there was a mix of indie bands and instrumental mixes, for Sirius, hard and classic rock, and for Harry, anything that he could dance to, so a good bit of techno and pop, with bits of club music as well. For awhile they had tried a system where each person had their own days, but it was a nightmare to track for anyone but Hermione, who had started to sneak in more of her own days into the mix. And so, the "We all tolerate this for each other" playlist was born. Hermione wasn't sure when Charlie had started adding his favourites into the mix, but the 90's pop and Taylor Swift wasn't what she had expected of him.

Preparations for dinner and the cleaning seemed to go easier once the music went on, with everything moving along quickly. Hermione changed into a simple white and blue striped romper before finishing up the preparations, reasoning with herself that she wanted to be comfortable tonight and treat Lucius and Severus like it was a normal night and not the night she would be evaluating them for her family.

She was just finishing plating up the ingredients when one of Harry's music choices came over the speaker. Normally Hermione was fairly reserved, but this one song just set her moving. Soon her hips were swinging to the beat and she threw herself into the rhythm, singing loudly and badly as she swayed to the pulsing undertone.

So engrossed was she in the rhythm that when the floo flared, Hermione missed it completely. As the song came to an end, she heard a distinctly male someone clear their throat and say "Please. Don't stop on our account. A more lovely sight I have never seen."

Hermione felt her face flush a hot red as she spun, tripping a bit over her own feet to see a beaming Neville, laughing Harry and Sirius, and three sets of very heated eyes devouring her form.

"Nor have I." Severus responded to Lucius' statement.

Charlie's response made Hermione's blush deepen even further, "I have, but I can see why you have no frame of reference."

"Indeed." Lucius purred, and Hermione had never felt so desired as she did in that moment with three sexy men undressing her with their eyes.

She wasn't sure whether to be relieved or upset when Neville piped up, "Ok! That's my sister! Move along!"

The men chuckled as Hermione scrambled to give Neville a long hug. When it came time to greet Severus and Lucius, she floundered for a moment before Lucius saved her.

"Please, accept this gift." From behind his back, Lucius produced potentially the most beautiful flower arrangement she had ever seen. The white peonies and lavender roses were stunning, and in a full arrangement with greenery that Hermione couldn't even name. "Oh how lovely. Thank you." She murmured as she took them to smell.

"Can I get you men anything I drink? I have soda, water, flavoured water, and... I think that's it..?" She trailed off, but Neville piped up.

"I brought wine! Two bottles. Cause you know. Sirius needs one of his own." Sirius didn't deny it while he, Neville, Severus and Lucius all opted for wine. Charlie grabbed a water, and Harry pulled out his very rationed fruit juice. Hermione debated for a moment before filling a wine glass as well, slipping her herself a couple more sips than might be strictly proper. Sirius saw her slip the bit more into her glass and gave her a goofy 'ok' sign, which made her chuckle a bit. Thankfully the the others were occupied with taking their first sips and getting situated.

After a moment of talking, it was clear Lucius didn't know what they were eating, though all the men commented that it smelled delicious. Hermione chuckled as she settled the tortilla shells she had under a warming charm on the table.

"Well, boys? It's taco night at my house. Come take a seat."

Lucius looked vaguely horrified at sitting in the kitchen, but when the lids were taken off dishes and he realized that he would be expected to assemble and eat his meal with his hands, he started to clearly panic. He had sat on Hermiones right side, while Charlie had taken her left, Severus being on Lucius' right and the others across the table.

Feeling his tension, Hermione laid a hand on his thigh. "Just try it. For me. It's not as bad as you think it will be. And if you really want, assemble and then eat with a fork and knife. I can't promise they," With this she motioned to the others at the table, "Won't tease you mercilessly. But I won't think less of you."

Lucius looked down his nose at those on the other side of the table, but Sirius just laughed in his face. "No one is safe here, Luccy. If you eat tacos with a fork and knife like a proper Lord, I will tease you for the rest of your life. I won't be intimidated by your glares." Lucius turned a hilarious shade of puce at the nickname, but Sirius just laughed some more.

Hermione just rolled her eyes and squeezed Lucius' leg. "Coming from someone with the table of a neanderthal, that's rich." Lucius seemed to catch on that this banter was normal and relaxed slightly, which in turn made a smile break out on Hermione's face.

Sirius just chuckled as he grabbed the tortillas and started passing them out to the others, tossing one down to Charlie, which resulted in "Don't you dare throw food in my house again Sirius Black! The last time it took me hours of scrubbing to get the sauce off the ceiling!"

"Hey wait! Isn't it my house?" Sirius grumbled as he assembled his taco.

"Not anymore, mate." Charlie snarked as he piled his taco with more meat than would be healthy for any non-dracken.

The banter gave Lucius some time to evaluate the options and made his taco with some guidance from Severus and Hermione. Finally, Hermione taught him how to roll it, and then came the moment of truth. The entire table turned to stare at Lucius as he daintily picked up his taco and took a small bite, placing the meal back on his plate delicately and dabbing his mouth primly. "This is really quite delicious." He said to Hermione, only to be startled by Sirius standing and clapping for him.

"Well done Luccy. I'm so proud of you!" Harry and Neville joined, and Lucius, finally catching on, stood and took a deep bow, thanking them all for the honour of dining with them. At this point Hermione was laughing so hard tears were running down her face, and Severus looked equal parts shocked and mortified that his soul-mate had so easily fell into joking cadence with Potter and Black. After a moment though, he joined the laughter.

Dinner passed with a lot of laughter, and conversation flowed freely. Charlie was particularly interested in what Severus and Lucius had been doing with their time since the war, and they were happy to talk about it. Lucius had spent much of his time in his business, but also volunteered at an orphanage for war orphans, which he spoke passionately about. It turns out many of the Death Eaters who were sentenced to be kissed had children, and very few people wanted to adopt the children of criminals. So Lucius donated liberally to their orphanage and visited often in an effort to alleviate their suffering. Hermione hadn't known she could feel such a mushy love for someone at his admittance that he and Narcissa had always wanted more children, and this was as close as he had ever thought he would get. Along with this went a note to look into adoption in the magical world and what that looked like. Surely if they were going to have fifty children of their own, they could handle adopting a few more...

When dinner was finished and everyone had finished at least one glass of wine, they retired to the muggle room. Lucius was completely captivated by the advancements muggles had made, marvelling at the TV especially. Harry talked everyone into watching a movie, which led to a lot of arguing about which to watch before Hermione put her food down and said that 'The Wizard of Oz' was out because it was offensive, as was 'Schindler's List' because it would take to much explanation, as would 'Star Wars', they eventually settled on the 'Lord of the Rings' because the men would understand it at least a bit.

While Harry got that set up, Hermione popped some popcorn, smothering it in far too much butter and salt. Weirdly, this was one of the things that Lucius had some experience with, since Narcissa used to pop corn in an old school popcorn basket over a fire for Draco on a cold night.

Rejoining the others in the muggle room resulted in a hilarious bickering fight that that ended in Hermione scrawled across most of the men's legs, which Lucius seemed to be equal parts scandalized by and love, but Severus was thrilled with because he got Hermione's butt on his lap.

Harry and Sirius were frustrated by how many questions Lucius had about the movie. "But elves don't look like that, where are the normal elves?" and "This wizard is incompetent. They couldn't find a better guide?" caused peals of laughter from Hermione. Neville seemed relieved that someone else found this movie as confusing as he obviously did. He had spent a good portion of dinner avoiding Severus, but seemed to be loosening up as he realized the dour man was the more relaxed and 'not having a sociopath breathing down my neck threatening to kill me all the time' version of himself.

Hermione revelled in the easy companionship provided by her mate, potential mates, brother, and friends. The evening passed in the way she hoped the rest of her life did, with laughter and giggling and more than subtle groping.

When the movie was over and Lucius had declared that it was far too late to watch the next one, which Neville seemed relieved about, Hermione and Charlie saw Lucius and Severus to the floo.

For a moment she was puzzled about the intense look Severus and Lucius shared with each other, then with Charlie, but that confusion melted away quickly when Lucius slotted his lips over hers. His kisses were exactly like the man himself, refined and controlled, with an intense edge of danger and lust. When Lucius pulled away, Hermione was left slightly dizzy and aroused, but she didn't have time to recover before Severus' lips met hers, and Hermione was struck by how different this kiss was. Where Lucius coaxed and eased into it, Severus dominated, drawing her into a deep and swirling pool of need. He took complete control and when he pulled away, she was left bereft. It took her a moment to realize that while Severus had kissed her, Charlie had come up behind her, and slipped his hand across her chest.

"You are so sexy right now, Kitten." Charlie whispered so only the four of them could hear. "All hot and flushed, the smell of your arousal permeating the room." Hermione's eyes fluttered between Severus and Lucius, her breaths laboured and strained.

Severus groaned a rumbling growl out and nearly whined, "Hermione, if you don't stop looking at me with those eyes that scream 'Take me to bed'..." This caused a laugh in Hermione that broke the tension.

"Good night Lucius, Severus." Hermione whispered with an awkward wave. Both of the men chuckled and waved back before slipping into the floo with Lucius giving a final 'I hope to see you again soon' before the flames took them away.

"Well. I think we can say that we are compatible..." Hermione murmured as she spun around in Charlie's arms, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Now, mate, take me to bed."

"Gladly." Charlie growled as he lifted her legs to hitch around his waist and carried her to the bedroom, shutting the door gently behind them.


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29 **

A/N: Thank you everyone for the reviews and support! My beta is as normal, AlaskanAppaloosa and she's...well. Y'all. She's amazing. Let's talk about her for a moment. She's a glorious flower blooming in the sun. A goddess of grammar and plot hole catching. She's truly a miracle.

* * *

When Hermione and Charlie woke the next morning, Neville was already awake and making breakfast. The look he gave her when she sat down immediately put her on guard. The look more befit Sirius' face than Neville's, and it was disconcerting.

"Ok. What's up?" Hermione's eyes narrowed on him, clearly skeptical.

Neville threw this hands up in obviously fake offense. "What? I'm not allowed to make breakfast for my sister?"

"No." Hermione said bluntly, taking a bite of a piece of kiwi. "Spill. What do you want?"

Charlie was chuckling as he devoured his bacon. "She's onto you, mate. Might as well tell her, she'll never drop it and you'll soon be dodging hexes if she gets grumpy enough about it."

Neville sighed and nodded, his hand coming up to rub the back of his neck. "It's just... Gran asked that maybe we got over for dinner tonight. You and I, and of course, Charlie... She..."

Hermione held up her hand to cut Neville off before what was obviously a well-rehearsed speech. "Do you feel that her intentions are pure? Do you feel she is repentant for what she did?"

Neville hesitated for a moment before saying diplomatically, "I think she regrets her choice, and I think she wants to know the granddaughter she lost."

Hermione sighed and nodded, poking the other pieces of fruit that Charlie had been steadily funnelling onto her plate. Was she ready for this step? If she was honest, she didn't know. Augusta had left her to die, and then kept her existence a secret from her twin. Because of her... Hermione had grown up in an orphanage, and had to go through the transition in fear. If Augusta had put more effort into finding her... but. There was a big but here in Hermione's mind. Augusta was still family, and there was precious little of that going around in her life. Just how much did family forgive one another for?

It didn't take long for Hermione to come up with a frame of reference. If Augusta had been Harry or Sirius, what would she forgive? The answer was just about anything. In fact, she couldn't think of a single thing that her boys could do that would make her split with them. If that was how family felt. How family acted. Then she supposed she owed Augusta at least the chance to step into her life.

Neville was waiting patiently as she processed, but the look of sheer relief on his face when Hermione finally nodded and said, 'Ok. I'll see her', revealed just how much he had emotionally invested into this moment.

"Next time though." Hermione's voice had taken on a hard edge, and Neville paled slightly. "Don't butter me up. Just ask. But this breakfast is delicious." Neville allowed himself a large smile as Hermione stuffed a piece of strawberry into her mouth, quickly followed by a banana slice.

Hermione chewed her food and swallowed before trading a look with Charlie, who voiced her thoughts. "So. Tell us what we need to know before going in to meet her."

"Well. I suppose the first thing would be, don't expect an apology or a grand statement from her. It just won't happen. She's not that kind of person. I honestly believes she feels remorse for what happens, but if you ever get her to admit it, it will be a miracle." Neville hesitated for a moment before continuing. "Also... prepare yourself for her being potentially rude. She's the matriarch of our entire family, and she's used to getting her own way and being heard and obeyed. She honestly means it for your best... but sometimes it comes off..." Neville's twisted face was enough that Hermione sighed deeply.

"So. I should expect no apology, and should prepare to be potentially verbally and emotionally abused. Why am I doing this again?"

"No!" Neville scrambled. "No. You won't be abused. But she... will just be opinionated about how you should live your life. Just... normal grandma stuff. I suppose. She'll probably want to set you up with some things. A proper wardrobe, per her standards, a vault in Gringotts, she may potentially want to talk about holding a ball to introduce you to society as her granddaughter..." The last words tumbled quickly out of his mouth, and Hermione groaned.

"Noooooo... No balls. Please no balls."

"C'mon, Hermione. She's old. She has so few joys left. Just... consider it. Please." Neville's large brown eyes begged her, and Hermione groaned the groan that all siblings know. The groan of 'dammit, I can't resist that look but I really don't want to, but I love you so much that I will do this and hold it over your head for the rest of our lives'. Neville grinned and nodded. "Thank you. Consideration is all I ask."

Hermione flicked a piece of banana at him in response, which he caught in his mouth. "Dracken reflexes. Thanks for that." An entire piece of bacon followed the banana, and Hermione rolled her eyes at his terrible table manners.

"What time is she expecting us?" Charlie chimed in this time, "I'm expected at the reserve for a couple of hours today, and I don't feel comfortable her going over there without me..."

Neville hurriedly swallowed his bacon, shrugging slightly. "She's home all day, and left the choice up to us. If you want an out? We can go this morning, and if you feel you need to leave? Simply say 'I'm sorry, but Charlie has to get to work'. It gives you an easy out..."

Hermione glanced at Charlie, who shrugged and nodded. "You should do it, Kitten. She's family. I don't mind being your excuse to leave either. Plus. What's she gonna do? Abandon you to poachers again?"

Neville growled and bared his teeth at Charlie, who snarled and snapped back. "Make no mistake, Neville. You're her brother. But I'm her mate. And if you endanger her in any way. I'll rip you to pieces and love every second. I'll meet my executioner with glee."

The emotions that the proclamation brought out in Hermione were varied. The first was an intense mushy love for her mate, but the second was fear, then anger, and finally the overwhelming sense of her dracken preening as her mate rose to her defence. Hermione placed a hand on Charlie's thigh, and when his eyes whipped around to meet hers, she smiled. "It's ok. You won't let anything happen." Charlie's eyes searched her own for a moment before he kissed her, a deep, toe-curling kiss that left her a little dizzy.

One more snarl at Neville was all Charlie allowed himself before he stalked away. Neville sighed and settled back into his chair. "I suppose he's not thrilled with me."

Hermione shrugged. "I don't think it's you he's not thrilled with. I'd imagine his dracken is pretty stressed right now. I'm putting myself into a situation that frankly, Neville? Could hurt me. A lot. I want you to understand what you are asking of me with this." Hermione's brown eyes met Neville's own, holding them there. "This woman. She could ruin me. It's for your sake I'm going at all. Don't make me regret making this choice."

"I won't." The words were whispered, and clearly a promise.

"Good. I have to go get ready. An hour? Will that work for you?" Neville nodded his assent as Hermione walked off, headed to her bedroom to comfort her mate.

The door was still thrown wide, and when she walked in she was greeted by Charlie leaning up against a wall, clearly overwhelmed. Hermione wasn't honestly sure whether he was bitterly sad or hysterically angry, but knew the answer was probably both. Slipping into her dracken form, she pressed herself up against his back, leaning her head between his shoulder blades. "I know it's scary. And I know this could be a mistake. But she's family." Charlie growled as he lost the battle to keep his dracken under control. He spun quickly to avoid hitting her with his wings, grabbing her and pulling her into a tight hug.

"I can't handle the thought that you could go in there and she could hurt you. She left you to die, Kitten. She left you there. She left you to..." Charlie's voice broke and Hermione felt a tear hit her head.

"I know. But she wants to make amends. And so we're going to go. We're going to forgive her. Because that's what family does." Hermione pulled back and grinned at him, baring her sharp teeth. "If it makes you feel better, you can sneakily pee on all her plants." Charlie burst into laughter at this, throwing his head back in hysterics. Soon Hermione joined him, their dracken forms slowly fading back into their human ones.

"We can do this." Hermione whispered into his chest, and he gave a deep sigh in return.

"I know. I just wish we didn't have to." He whispered back, placing a kiss on her forehead. "But for you. We will. Now. I know you're gonna want to wash that mane of yours. Go. I'll even let you have the shower to yourself."

"Awe." Hermione pouted, to which Charlie's chuckled.

"I heard you. You said an hour, and just washing and prepping those curls of yours takes half an hour. Go or you're not even gonna have time to get dressed. And trust me. This is one of those things you're going to want to get dressed up for." Charlie spun her around gently and pushed her towards the bathroom, while Hermione reluctantly admitted he was right.

Half an hour later a much refreshed Hermione stepped out of the bathroom, carefully scrunching her hair dry with a cotton shirt. She flipped the mop of hair over her head and headed into her closet to get dressed. "What do you wear to meet your long lost grandma who left you for dead?" She murmured as her eyes took in the many options Harry and Sirius had provided. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the beautiful robe that Charlie has gotten her as a mating gift, and she thought it was the perfect jumping-off point. It was quite conservative, and was a traditional wizarding cut, which would appeal to Augusta's sensibilities. She had nothing strictly wizarding for underneath, but with some transfiguring, a long white maxi skirt became a sleeveless twelfth century style dress, with a golden belt around her hips. She chose to leave her arms bare, and altered the back of the dress to match the robe, baring her back so her wings could be free if she needed to change forms.

A drying charm for curly hair set her curls without frizz, and another twisted it into an elegant chignon, leaving some curls free to frame her face. Hermione passed on most jewelry, adding only a gold cuff to her wrist, but applied some very light makeup that accented her large chocolate eyes. She examined herself once in the mirror before spinning away in a move a-la-Professor-Snape. Yes, she could see why Severus enjoyed the flare of traditional wizarding robes. It was so fun!

This is how Charlie found her, in their room making her robes swish all over, laughing and giggling. "Well, you look like you're enjoying yourself." He remarked, to which Hermione just laughed and swished again.

"It's so fun! You should try this!" The laughter in her eyes made Charlie grin, but he shook his head.

"Sorry, Love. No time. We've gotta head out, Neville's expecting us at the floo any minute." Hermione was disappointed that she had to stop, but spun slowly one more time.

"Is this appropriate for going to meet Augusta? I wasn't sure what to pair the robes with, but this seemed conservative enough..." Hermione was suddenly a little unsure as she looked down at her dramatic dress.

Charlie gave her a quick kiss and a nod. "It's perfect. Very pureblood princess."

Hermione rolled her eyes but nodded, "Ok then." She swept out of the room, Charlie following on her heels.

When Neville saw her coming his eyes bugged out a bit. "Wow. I don't think even Gran could find something to complain about with that. You look lovely, Hermione." Hermione quietly thanked him with a curtsy, and Neville continued. "She's expecting us. The floo address is 'Longbottom Hall'."

Hermione moved to go first, but Charlie stopped her and stepped into the floo first, calling out the destination and disappearing into the flames. For a moment, Hermione was puzzled before Neville explained. "He wants to make sure it's clear of threats. It's actually quite a compliment to me that his dracken would leave you here with me while he did so. Anyways. You ready to go?"

"It's now or never." Hermione whispered, grabbing a handful of floo powder.

"You know that's not true, right?" Neville questioned, concerned. "You can back out now and try this again another time. I won't judge you for it."

Hermione smiled softly at her brother before shaking her head. "No. I need to do this. It's time to talk to her. But thank you Neville. Longbottom Hall!" With a swirl of purple flames, she was gone.


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

A/N: Thank you to my wonderful beta AlaskanAppaloosa! I love you!

To those who don't like the cliff hangers, I'm sorry! D: It just happens to be where I find it easiest to break the chapters.

Atymer – Thank you for your review! I loved reading it. Welcome to the Thunder!

ReaderRabid – Thank you! I really thought Hermione needed someone who would just... hold her up when things got hard. Severus will push her, Lucius will pamper her, and Charlie will protect her.

Sorry for the long time between updates! We went to a wedding this weekend and like dudes. Dudes. So much drama. I thought I would have time to write and NO. No instead we had to keep the mother of the bride and mother of the groom from killing one another. It was "wonderful". -_- But we're back!

Lady of the snakes – Thank you! I love writing it, so I'm so glad so many of you love it!

CaptainHoodie – Sleep my girl! It'll still be there in the morning I swear! I'm so flattered though!

Burungmalam – It was so much fun to write Lucius and tacos. I love these characters, they all fit so well together in my head, and they really write themselves in many ways.

I'm so sorry I can't respond to every single review, but here's my responses to a few!

* * *

To Hermione's relief, Augusta wasn't there to meet them in the foyer they emerged in. When Neville followed her through the floo, he explained that she had wanted them to have a minute to collect themselves before she would receive them in the tea room.

Hermione couldn't decide if this was considerate of Augusta, or unbearably pretentious, and finally decided on both. It took only a moment for Charlie to check her over and ensure she was fine before Hermione charmed the soot off both of them. Charlie had opted for traditional wizarding robes as well for the day, which she appreciated, because he was clearly uncomfortable but wanted to make a good impression on her grandmother for her sake.

Neville guided them through the house, but as they passed into what he described as the hallway before the tea room, he suddenly stopped and spun to face Hermione. "I forgot to tell you. She... is not fond of the Malfoys. Or Severus."

"Well it's a good thing she doesn't get a vote then, isn't it?" Hermione snarled, "She can suck it up if she wants to be in my life. She doesn't get to choose my mates. If I wanted to mate to Voldemort himself, she still wouldn't get input."

Neville grinned and chuckled. "Oh, Gran has no idea what she's getting into here. I can't wait."

With this, Neville pushed the door open to the room where Augusta waited. "Nan... presenting Hermione Granger, and her mate, Charles Weasley."

"Well, come in, child." Augusta was dressed in her typical green robes, though the hat with the vulture was missing. Hermione stepped into the room, unsure of how to approach this woman who was so harsh. The years had not been kind to Augusta, and losing her son and his wife had done some very serious damage to her psyche. She was a hard woman, and held her heart very far from any chance of further pain. From what Neville had told Hermione, his childhood had been filled with strict rules, and very little in the way of outright affection from his grandmother.

Finally Hermione settled on "Hello ma'am. Thank you for inviting us to your home." A small curtsy, which Charlie followed with a small bow.

Augusta looked down her nose at her for a moment before her face visibly softened. "No need to be so formal, Hermione. Please. Sit down. There is a lot to talk about."

Hermione sat on the stiff, floral printed chair, while Charlie stood behind her, clearly her guard and protector. When Augusta looked her over, clearly taking the measure of the girl in front of her, Hermione met her gaze with a proud near-glare.

Augusta nodded, "Good. You'll need that attitude to deal with all these society witches. You clean up well enough I suppose, and that robe is lovely. Very appropriate."

Hermione's face twisted into an empty smile, "Thank you. It was a gift from my mate." She didn't deem the rest of the comments worthy of responses. She wasn't here to make nice with Augusta. She was here because Neville had asked her to be.

Augusta was clearly frustrated by Hermione's unwillingness. "My dear. I realize there has been some unpleasantness. I understand that you are angry. But holding onto this bitterness will not help your cause here, and if you want to move up in the ministry or dracken counsel... you will need my help."

A haze of red fell over Hermione's eyes and she growled, her fangs rapidly descending. "That's what you call leaving me to be raised by poachers? Unpleasantness? Do you know what they do-" Hermione bit her lip hard enough she drew blood to stop her mouth from running through the pile of hurtful words that she had accumulated. Behind her, Charlie was rumbling a calming growl to her, even as he struggled to contain his own dracken reaction to the woman who had put his mate in such danger.

Augusta just stared them down imperiously. "What do you want me to say, child? Do you want some grand apology? Do you want a reunion? Those things will not happen. I made a decision that was correct at the time, to keep my family safe. I would do it again." Augusta hesitated for a moment when Hermione's eyes met her own, "Do I regret that you were hurt in that process? Yes. But I cannot change it. All I can do is move forward. That's all we can do. I have done my research into you, girl. You could rule this world if you wanted to. And I can help you."

"At what price?" Hermione spat at her, returning her imperious glare. "I will not be some dark lady, or a puppet for you to manipulate into service."

Augusta, for the first time, smiled. "Oh, my dear, of that I have no doubt. No. There isn't a dark bone within you. Instead, you will champion the weak and maligned, bringing forth a golden age like the wizarding world hasn't seen since the founders. But you can't do it alone. You need money, and influence. You need friends in the counsel and friends in the Wizengamot. You need me. You need the Longbottom name." Augusta shifted slightly in her chair, turning to face Hermione fully, her eyes sharp and harsh, "So here is the question. How deep does that hatred of me go? Can you put it aside for your goals? You'll never get there alone."

Hermione stared at her grandmother, knowing that what she said was true. The Wizengamot was made of entirely old pureblood families, and there was no way for a muggle-born to penetrate the glass ceiling. The dracken counsel had to be similar in how they operated. She had seen enough of Mr. Weasley's struggle in the ministry to know that working hard and doing your job well was not enough to get promoted from within. You had to be connected, you had to play the politics game. And whether Hermione liked it or not... she couldn't currently. Charlie offered the family she wanted, but none of the political connections. Yes, Lucius could provide some of it, but they would quickly dry up when they found that her ideals were very far from the ones Lucius had built his power base on.

The Longbottoms, on the other hand, were a notoriously light family, and their power base was deep. Augusta was one of the most respected women in the wizarding world. More than one girl in Hermione's year at Hogwarts had lamented that Lady Longbottom was no longer taking on apprentices, as those she mentored went on to inevitably hold high stations in wizarding society.

Hermione spun around to share a deep look with Charlie before she sighed and spun to look at Augusta. "Well, I suppose that's all I will get from you. Neville told me not to expect any sort of apology. I guess he knows you quite well. I'll accept your offer. I need your help. I want to change this world. If I have to make up with you to do it... I suppose I will have to sacrifice bigger things along the way."

Augusta nodded approvingly. "Yes, you will. Now. Tell me your plans. What do you want to accomplish?"

Hermione took a moment to consider before she spoke. "I want to give muggle-born witches and wizards a voice in the Wizengamot. I want to open the dracken community up to the wider world. If they don't innovate in some way, they are going to die. From what Charlie has told me, the dracken counsel has been made up of the same families for generations, with Bert and Sara being the only shake-ups in a couple hundred years. That's unacceptable to me. I would also like to see sentient creatures gain rights within the wizarding world, especially werewolves, centaurs, and house elves. Of course, I would like to have a bunch of children with my mates as well."

Charlie ogled his mate, aghast at just how much she wanted to achieve. It was one thing to know that she was ambitious, but quite another to hear her lay it out so frankly. While he was overwhelmed with the to-do list, Augusta seemed calm and collected.

With a wave of her wand, Augusta charmed a quill to write as she and Hermione spoke. "Those are big dreams. I'm not certain we will get to see all the fruits of your labors. But your children will. Your grandchildren certainly will. The first step will be the Wizengamot. More than one of the families that serve there serve on the Dracken counsel as well. The seats are passed down from father to son, and it's not often a woman sits on the ancestral seat. Neville has offered to give up the Longbottom seat to you."

Hermione gasped and turned to Neville, overwhelmed by the generosity. Neville on the other hand, simply smiled. "You will do more with it than I ever could."

Augusta didn't leave time for a heartfelt thank you though, as she was already using her wand to draw out the basic structure of the Wizengamot in white light in the air between her and Hermione. "At the head of the Wizengamot is the Chief Warlock. He works in conjunction with the Minister of Magic. Under him are fifty wizards from prominent families. They are ancestral seats passed within families, though some families have died out and been replaced with others by votes within the body itself. This means that the ideas that you are fighting against? Are old. Older than you can possibly imagine. It also means that you will have an uphill battle the entire way."

Augusta flicked her wand and the names that she had written down of all fifty members split into three columns. "There are three main factions within the Wizengamot. The light faction, the dark faction, and the neutral faction, which vote either way."

Hermione's eyes scanned the names in all three columns. The Longbottoms and the Potters stood out on the light side, while the Malfoys and Greengrasses stood out on the dark factions side. Notably absent names included the Weasleys and the Dumbledores. "Does Harry know he holds a seat on the counsel? Why is the Dumbledore family not represented?"

"I do not know if Potter knows about his seat. He has been absent since he came of age, and before that, Dumbledore voted for him as his magical guardian. The Dumbledore seat was disbanded and replaced with the new Zabini seat because Aberforth refused wholeheartedly to take it. I believe he told the man who came to tell him the seat was his to go do things that were physically impossible with the goats the man keeps."

Hermione nodded, unsurprised that Aberforth had turned down the job rudely. The man just wanted to run his bar and stay out of everyone's way. Forcing him to take a political role would be a nightmare for the elderly man, and she had no doubt that he would make everyone else miserable as well.

"What would happen if I were to mate with Malfoy? Would we be forced to vote the same?"

Augusta shook her head harshly. "Neither you nor your mate would be forced to vote a particular way by the other. If you were, you could take a complaint to the dracken counsel, and they would intervene. This wasn't the case even ten years ago, but those young people on the counsel have been making a hard push towards rights for submissives to hold jobs and be productive members of society apart from their dominants. I suggest you get to know them if you intend to make any changes to the dracken world." With wave of her wand Augusta summoned the stack of books that were on a nearby side table. "These are for you. Books on the running of the Wizengamot, as well as a hand written journal by my father about his personal understanding of the politics of it. Not much has changed since his time."

Hermione shrank the books and handed them to Charlie, who stored them in his pocket. "Thank you. Unfortunately, Charlie has to work, so we must leave. We will do this again soon."

Hermione stood and dipped into a small curtsey, but didn't leave room for Augusta to prevent her from leaving. She barely allowed for her grandmother to say a simple "Thank you for coming today." before she spun around and headed for the floo.

Charlie and Neville followed her through and were shocked to find Hermione already in the kitchen throwing plates against the wall.

"Unpleasantness she said! Leave me to die and I need her help! Change the lives of hundreds of sentient creatures, just sacrifice your own sense of justice!" Hermione screamed as she threw the plates with all the power of her dracken form. The plates left dents in the stone wall, and Harry, who had been sitting at the table when she came in, was more than a bit fearful that he would get caught in the crossfire. "What a terrible horrible bitch of a human being! Dammit why do I have to need her!" She stalked around for a moment, growling and grumbling to herself before she waved her wand and mended the plates before starting to throw them again, this time with less force.

Finally, when Hermione was done with her throwing, she collapsed on her knees, panting and struggling to contain her wings. Surprisingly, it was Neville who braved her wrath and walked over. "You don't have to do this. You can walk away. Live a normal life. Never have to see her again."

Hermione shook her head frantically. "No. I want to change the world. If ruining some plates now and then is what it takes... then that's what it takes. She's a bitch. But she's the bitch who contributed to my DNA and can get me to the point where I can make change." Hermione's eyes were steely as Neville helped her up. "I will change this world for the better. And if dealing with Augusta Longbottom is my fee, then bring it on."


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

A/N:

I don't own Harry Potter.

Thank you as always to my beta AlaskanAppaloosa. You are a wonder.

There's a good chance that this chapter will put us over 70k words, which means this is the longest piece of writing I have EVER done. Thank you so much to those who support this fic. I... am overwhelmed with how amazing you guys are.

* * *

Hermione spent the majority of the next week immersed in the books on the Wizengamot. The politics involved were, in a word, intense. The power structures within the voting blocks were determined by age-old pureblood ideals and tradition as much as by morality, and loyalty seemed to be non-existent. The personal journals provided especially proved just how cutthroat and brutal this body could be.

Augusta's father's name was Augustus, and he, like Augusta herself, was human. He was firmly entrenched on the light side of the Wizengamot, though before him, his father had been a neutral. For some reason this surprised Hermione. She had always thought of the Longbottoms of a quintessentially light family, and so it was a shock to find they had not always been so.

Augustus had keep extensive journals, and it seemed someone, after his passing, had taken the time to color code everything. Hermione suspected this was done by Augusta by hand for her benefit, but couldn't confirm this. It was quite easy to find all the Wizengamot or political writings, because they were all highlighted in red. But what started to fascinate Hermione more as she was reading were the pieces in purple.

These passages were about family life. Augustus' relationship with his wife was a close friendship, but not loving or romantic in any way. On the other hand, he loved his children deeply, and it shone off the page. His pride and joy was his namesake. Hermione found it a bitter pill to swallow to find that Augustus had only kind and wonderful things to say about the young Augusta. She was the pride of his life.

In contrast, his older sons, Herbert and Henry, were grave disappointments to him. A simple conversation with Neville proved that they had both died quite young for wizards, mostly of their own gambling and drinking problems. This left Augusta as the last Longbottom able to hold the Wizengamot seat, and it had passed onto Neville at his coming of age, and now Neville was passing it to Hermione. This type of passing of the chair to a female sibling was nearly unheard of, though Augustus did mention one time nearly two hundred years before when a Black sibling had passed to his sister, in hopes that the sister's husband would push through more radical reform through her.

A quick glance over the journal showed that Augustus was particularly frustrated with the dark faction. In his time they had been fighting for muggle-born witches and wizards to have even basic rights, and the dark faction was arguing for fully barring them from wizarding society. It seemed that the Black and Malfoy families especially were large proponents for banishment and obliviation of muggle-borns. Augustus did eventually win the vote, but it was far closer than he would have liked, and his frustration was evident in his writing.

Hermione wasn't sure how Lucius would take her petitioning on the Wizengamot. Would he be upset that his mate was so firmly in the light faction? Would it create tension in their marriage?

Before she could get sucked into the anxiety spiral that those questions conjured, Hermione decided to just ask him. Charlie was at work, but Harry was around, so she hollered out to him that she was going to visit Lucius. He yelled back something vaguely like "Ok!", so Hermione jumped into the floo, calling out 'Malfoy Manor'!

When Hermione emerged in the large foyer of the Malfoy family home, she was a bit shocked. Lucius had obviously done extensive remodelling on the manor since Voldemort's residence there. Only a small squeak from a house elf distracted her from the lovely earth tones the entire house was decorated in.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" Hermione apologized to the elf, who was clearly terrified. "I'm Hermione Granger... and I'm here to see Lucius... he... isn't expecting me..." For the first time Hermione realized just how rude her actions could be seen as. "You know what? I'm sorry, this was a silly idea. I'll just... let him know Hermione wanted to talk to him?"

"You don't need to do any such thing, Tippy." Lucius remarked as he swept into the room, "You're always welcome here, Hermione. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

Hermione's face flushed lightly, but she couldn't help but notice that this was the most casual she had even seen Lucius. He was in slacks with patched knees and a clearly muggle t-shirt, and had dirt on his arms and gardening gloves tucked into his back pocket.

"I... I came to talk to you..." Hermione stuttered, "But I can see you're busy... I... I'll just go... It wasn't anything... important."

Lucius smiled brightly, "My dear. I'm never too busy for you. Please. Stay. I'd be honoured to entertain you." He bowed shallowly, motioning her through a hallway. "Please. My study is this way, and I'm certain Tippy would be happy to make us some tea and scones?"

"Oh yes, Master Lucius! Tippy would be most happy to serve the Master and Lady!" Tippy exclaimed as she popped away, Hermione supposed to the kitchen.

"Thank you... As long as you're sure I'm not intruding." Hermione said, slipping her hand into Lucius' extended arm.

"Not at all. It's always an honour to show a beautiful woman around my property." Lucius remarked, once again causing the blush on Hermione's face to darken.

They engaged in small talk as they settled into the study, and it didn't miss Hermione's notice that while there were other seating arrangements available, Lucius settled them onto a small loveseat, pressed quite close together.

When Lucius finally inquired about why she had dropped in for a visit, Hermione took a deep breath and steeled herself to ask the question that had prompted her trip.

"Augusta Longbottom is my grandmother. I'm sure you know this." Hermione started, and Lucius nodded that he did indeed know. "I recently had a meeting with her. She offered to mentor me in the politics needed to navigate the Wizengamot and the dracken counsel."

Lucius paused at this, his tea halfway to his lips. Hermione pressed on, determined that she would get all the shocking news out of the way at once. "Neville has offered me his seat on the Wizengamot. And I intend to take it." Lucius visibly paled at this, and had to set his tea down.

"I need to know, Lucius." Hermione finished, "If I do this... will it interfere with our mating?"

Lucius was quiet, almost awkwardly, so Hermione decided to plow on. She stood and ended up making wide gestures with her hands as she spoke. "I want to make sweeping changes, Lucius. I want muggle-born witches and wizards to not fear the glass ceiling they can never penetrate. I want house elves to not have to fear being abused. I want centaurs to have rights according to the law, and werewolves to not have to fear not being able to earn an honest living. The wizarding world is still in the dark ages! I want to see muggle technology permeate the wizarding world!"

Lucius cut off Hermione's impassioned speech with a raised hand. "All of those are wonderful things, Hermione. But you know you are fighting against hundreds of years of tradition? And I won't be able to help you. My contacts and pull in the Wizengamot are linked to dark families, and they certainly will not support your goals."

Hermione nodded solemnly. "I don't need your contacts or support. I need to know if you will fight me. I need to know if you can handle being mated to someone who is going to change this world." Hermione hesitated, letting her vulnerability bubble to the surface for a moment, "I need to know that we can make this work. I need to know that you won't one day hate me because of the changes I want to make."

Lucius pondered for a moment before speaking. "There are a few things I can promise you, Hermione. But also a few things that I cannot." Lucius stood, pacing a bit as he spoke. "I can promise you that I will not actively fight you in the Wizengamot. I can promise I will not try to force you to vote for my views... but I would like if we could perhaps speak and you could try to see things from our viewpoint as well? Traditionally dark and light families have not overlapped often. Which also means there is not much trade of ideas. I would think that as a set, we would make a formidable pair... I can promise that I will never hate you."

Almost as a response to her showing her inner feelings, Lucius let a small bit of his show as well, fear bubbling to the surface. "But I cannot promise you that sometimes we will not argue vehemently. I cannot promise that sometimes work won't come home with us. I cannot promise that I will turn my allies to your views. And I hope... that what I can promise you is enough. Because I cannot help but feel that we-"

Whatever Lucius was going to say was cut off by the feral roar that exploded in the room. Both Hermione and Lucius burst into dracken form, and Lucius stepped in front of Hermione to protect her from the threat.

Unfortunately, this only provoked Charlie further. With a vicious scream he attacked Lucius, throwing the older man away from his mate and roughly throwing Hermione behind him.

Charlie shifted into a defensive stance over her as he tried to herd Hermione towards the door. "Charlie! Charlie stop! Lucius! Charlie! Charlie stop this!" Hermione screamed as Charlie snarled at her, baring his teeth. It was purely biological response that had her curling onto the floor and releasing a high-pitched wail that sent Charlie deeper into his rage.

When Lucius came to, he assessed the situation, and with great effort, shifted back to human form, though his instincts screamed at him to attack the other male scaring the submissive. "Charlie." He said cautiously, not sure just how much the feral dracken could understand. "You are scaring Hermione. She didn't tell you she was coming here today, did she? I have no wish to steal your mate." As he spoke, he raised his hands in surrender, showing Charlie that there was nothing in them. "I will be leaving now."

With a spin that ripped another harsh snarl from Charlie, Lucius disapparated into the hallway, where he interrupted Severus from bursting into the room to respond to Hermione's distress call. "She didn't tell him she was coming today. She's a week from her heat, maybe. He's feral." Severus relaxed as Lucius explained, then both disapparated away to the kitchen to wait for the pair to calm down.

Charlie stalked around the perimeter of the room, calming down as he realized that the threat to his mateship was gone. Hermione's distress calls ceased as he calmed down, but she still couldn't bring herself to get out of her ball on the floor.

Charlie didn't give her much choice though when he grabbed her and lifted her off the floor, his dracken inspecting every inch of her body.

"He didn't touch me at all, Charlie. I wasn't trying to run away with him, I swear. I just wanted to talk to him about the Wizengamot. I'm sorry, I should have thought. Sometimes I forget we're not human."

Hermione wasn't sure how much Charlie could understand in the feral state, but she continued to speak anyways. "I love you Charlie, I'm sorry I distressed you so badly."

It wasn't purely human when Charlie growled back, "Mine. My mate. Protect mate. Mine."

"Yes. Yours." Hermione placated as she pulled one of her hands out of his to wrap around his neck. "Yours. Come back, Charlie."

The moment Charlie's arms wrapped around her waist and his face was buried in her neck, she knew her Charlie was back. Tears dripped down her shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Hermione. When I got home... you were gone, and no one knew where you were. Then I tracked you here and... I couldn't control it. It was like my brain turned off."

Hermione sighed softly, slowly running her hands through his hair to help him come down from the feral high. "I know. I'm sorry. I told Harry where I went, but he must not have heard me. Forgive me for putting you through this."

"Of course I forgive you." Charlie whispered as they both shifted into their human forms again. "You're so close to your heat... I didn't... think."

Hermione nodded slowly. "We need to talk to Lucius."

"No need!" Lucius called from outside the door, which prompted chuckles from Hermione and a low growl from Charlie. "I'm just outside with Severus, and we understand. Would anyone like some lunch? Tippy has made a little something!"

Hermione met Charlie's eyes and held them for a moment before Charlie nodded, "If you'd like. But neither of them touch you. And you sit by me."

"Done." Hermione said before hollering to Lucius. "We'd love to, but Charlie says you both gotta keep your hands to yourselves!"

"Well. We wouldn't want to lose an arm now, would we Ms. Granger?" It was Severus' drawl that responded to her, and it made Charlie puff up a bit with pride that they felt he could be a serious threat to them.

"Indeed." Hermione mimicked Snape's normal tone, which sent Lucius into a very undignified giggle as he swung open the door.

"Perhaps next time, Hermione? Let your mate know where you're going." The mischief twinkling in his eyes was lost on Hermione.

"I'm so sorry, Lucius, this is all my fault!"

"All is forgiven, my dear. Let's go eat."

Charlie didn't leave her side the entire walk to the kitchen, and didn't seem to be able to bring himself to not be constantly touching her, but Hermione found that strangely, she didn't mind.


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

A/N: Thank you to AlaskanAppaloosa, my amazing beta! You make all this possible!

Hello and welcome to all the new followers! Thank you as always for your reviews! It makes it so much easier and more fun to write when I know you guys are enjoying it!

This chapter was a real struggle. I wrote almost 3 pages of it and then ended up scrapping it all and starting over because I just didn't like the direction it took the story. So. That is why it's so late!

It turned out that Tippy had had a hint that Hermione was quite late in her heat cycle, because the table was loaded with cereals and grains, and supplemented with lots of meats for the men. Hermione tucked into several slices of bread smeared with a bacon jam that she thought sounded awful but tasted amazing, as well as several bowls of a rich mixed grain hot cereal with cream and brown sugar that hit her cravings so well.

Charlie stayed close to her side, and seemed unable to take his hands off her. Whether it was putting a hand on her thigh, or twirling a finger in her curls, he seemed to need the physical assurance that she was there and still his. Hermione didn't begrudge him the contact, as it was rather comforting for her as well. The whole situation had rather shaken her. This was the first time that something had distressed her enough to throw her into the feral distress call, and the still slightly primitive part of her was still reeling.

Conversation was light and easy, but it was clear that Severus and Lucius were trying very hard not to provoke Charlie, who for his part, seemed very tense. By the end of the meal, even Hermione was feeling quite strained and relieved they were going home.

Most of the next few days were filled with lots of physical reassurance for both of them that their bond wasn't changed. Both Harry and Sirius commented on just how clingy they were. They were always touching, even if it was just playing footsies at dinner, or Charlie's hand twirling one of her curls as they read together on the couch in the library.

It was also during this week that Hermione started to see the cracks in the interactions between Sirius, Harry, and herself. It wasn't that they didn't love each other, it was just that they were all very different. Sirius and Hermione especially were starting to clash regularly.

Sirius wanted to run his house how he wanted. He wanted to leave his clothes on the floor and his dishes in the game room if he felt like it. Hermione on the other hand was constantly frustrated at feeling like Sirius and Harry's mother, always telling them to clean up after themselves.

It finally came to a head when Sirius and Hermione were 'playfully' yelling at each other across the house about their particular habits, but then without notice the tone turned hurtful before Charlie and Harry's eyes. Soon Hermione was crying, Charlie was angry because she was upset, Sirius had stormed off, and Harry was left confused about how it had all changed so fast. He left after Sirius, figuring Hermione had Charlie to help her.

What he found was a very confused and frustrated Sirius pacing around muttering to himself about how he loved her but why was she so insane? He just wanted to leave his dishes around without feeling like he'd broken an international treaty!

By the time Sirius calmed down and they rejoined Charlie and Hermione, it seemed the four of them had come to the same conclusion. It was time for Hermione to find a house. A place where her and her mates could be happy.

A couple of tearful hugs later, though Sirius would swear it was just the dusty room, and they all sat down to start brainstorming again.

"Well, the nice part is that between the money from your Order of Merlin, and all the investing you've been doing, plus Charlie's contributions, budget pretty much isn't a problem!" Harry remarked as they settled into the library to do some looking. "The bad news is... you need a unique house. Lots of grounds, preferably surrounded by forest. At least fourteen bedrooms."

"Not to mention that we will have other unique needs that will discount a muggle house." Hermione said, once again dragging out the white boards and duplicating them for this process. "If we mate Severus, he's going to need a potions lab, and Lucius will need an office. Charlie is going to need lots of outdoor space or he's going to go insane... and I think.. a garden outside would be helpful, perhaps some greenhouses?"

All three men grinned at the small hint for who she was considering for her last mate.

"That sounds wonderful, Kitten. Don't forget you're also going to want some sort of muggle rooms." Sirius spoke up, and the markers that Hermione had charmed to take down their thoughts scribbled on the board in his spiky writing.

"And the property will need wards. Blood wards if possible." That was Charlie, once again taking his role as protector seriously. "That rules out a muggle house, and a muggle neighbourhood."

Hermione nodded, then very hesitantly whispered into the room. "Since we are making decisions that will involve Severus and Lucius... do you think we should invite them over to help?"

The silence that met the question was palpable, with neither Sirius nor Harry wanting to voice an opinion. Charlie's eyes caught her own, seeming to search her soul for something. Finally Charlie took a deep breath, and a strong exhale, nodded. "Yes. We should."

The entire room breathed a sigh of relief, but Charlie wasn't finished. "But you don't touch either of them. And..." Charlie seemed almost shamed-faced at this. "I need you to hold my hand please. Not the whole time... but a bit. Please. My dracken is screaming at me not to let them in, but I know that's unreasonable. So..." Charlie didn't get to finish his sentence before a small ball of wild brown hair tackled him into a hug.

"Of course I'll hold your hand, you ridiculous man." Hermione whispered before kissing him soundly. "Harry, can you go floo Lucius and see if he and Severus are free?" Sirius tactfully decided to join Harry leaving the room as Hermione very thoroughly thanked Charlie. By the time that the boys joined them again, Charlie was relaxed and Hermione was smiling, which thankfully released any remaining tension.

"Lucius said he and Severus would be honoured to come and search with us. They both needed to pick up some paperwork, and-" Whatever Harry was going to say was cut off by the floo flaring to life.

"They're here!" Hermione hollered, running for the floo. Charlie just smiled and rolled his eyes as Hermione skidded to a sudden stop in front of the Slytherins, who were cleaning themselves from the floo soot. "Hello! Thank you so much for coming!"

Lucius was much more amused by how excited Hermione was than Severus. "Thank you for thinking of us. We assumed that we would be left out of this decision, as usually the first mate and submissive make the decision together. We appreciate the consideration."

"Of course we were going to take your needs and wants into consideration!" Hermione cried, shaking her head. "Come on, we're set up in the library, I have white boards!" Even Severus cracked a smile at the goofy grin on her face at the white boards. Harry, thankfully, had hidden the white boards that included the details on the potential mates, but the boards with the house details were front and center.

Both Lucius and Severus examined the boards closely, nodding. "This is a good start, Ms. Gra- Hermione." Severus drawled. "A potions lab would be greatly appreciated, and an attached office would mean I could work from home, which would give me some flexibility when it comes to raising children."

If Hermione was as shocked at this statement as Harry and Sirius obviously were, she didn't show it. "Add it to the board, Severus."

Lucius on the other hand, looked a little pained as he looked over the list. "This is all practical! Where is your sense of style!" With a sigh he grabbed a pen and started to write.

"We will need a master bedroom that can hold a double king bed, because I assume that at least for heats we will be all sleeping in the same bed, an ensuite is a must, I refuse to share my main bathroom with children." Lucius' nose wrinkled as Harry and Sirius laughed uproariously at the idea of Lucius Malfoy peeing next to a Babbity Rabbity step stool.

Severus rolled his eyes, but grabbed the pen from Lucius' hand. "Between your books, and mine, we are going to need a formal library as well. And I assume that such a large magical household will need house elves, which will need proper quarters."

Hermione bit her tongue against the flood of frustration that came at this comment. Over the last several years, she had done significant investigation into house elves and their relationships to wizards and witches. It seemed that the relationship between house elves and their families was symbiotic, and needed. House elves siphoned off extra magical energy that lingered about magical households, and used it for their own purposes. This lessened bursts of accidental magic, and ensured that magical children especially could grow up safely. For house elves, the magic made their lives long and healthy, as well as increased their birth rates. In many older families, elves of the same bloodline served them for many generations, becoming friends and playmates, as well as treasured companions. Every attempt on her part to 'free' elves, was met with panic on the part of the elves. Finally, she had given up the fight for it.

But. That didn't mean she wouldn't push for their lives to be as wonderful as possible. "We will pay them." Hermione spoke into the room, demanding attention from the men around her. "They will eat with the family. We will never hit them or punish them. We will pay them, and they will get regular days off."

Hermione swore she could hear Harry and Sirius' eye sockets crack with the force of their eye rolls, but from her mate and potential mates, these statements were met with a mix of an emotion she could only describe as 'Duh.' and amusement.

"Yes, Dear." Severus said as he scribbled the notes in his scrawling writing on the board.

Once the boards were satisfactorily full, Severus and Lucius turned over the paperwork they had brought. It turned out to be a full list of the properties, assets, and liquid funds the two had. Hermione flushed when she realized that she was expected to inspect and approve them.

"I... don't care? Is that strange in dracken culture? I don't need to see this to know that you two will do your best to support our family." Severus seemed amused by this, and Lucius seemed proud.

"Hermione, it's more so we can figure out a budget. These kinds of houses aren't cheap... or even built all that often. We may find that a custom house may be the way we have to go, though that could take significant amounts of time." Charlie said as he flipped through the portfolios, nodding to himself.

While Charlie had flipped through, Lucius had kept quiet, and when he did speak, it was almost sheepishly. "I would... like to..." He seemed to flounder for a moment before Severus rested a hand in the small of his back, seeming to lend the blonde man some strength. "The Manor meets all these requirements, and more. But... I understand that everyone's history there is... Mixed."

Harry snorted derisively at this. "Mixed? She was tortured there. We were held captive in the dungeons!"

Lucius visibly shrunk under the statements before he whispered brokenly, "Yes. You were, and I deeply regret it. I have done everything I can to make up for it. I have... changed. Everything. The manor has gone through extensive remodeling and curse-breaking, as well as a thorough magical cleansing. No trace of that monster or his followers lives there."

Hermione considered just how hard those years would have been for the Malfoy family, with Voldemort living in their home. They would have lived in constant fear of death and torture, and their own family turned on them. Charlie, sensing her unease, slipped arms around her from behind, cuddling her into his chest. After several deep breaths, she spoke, interrupting Harry and Sirius who were both gearing to yell more at Lucius.

"I would like to tour the manor. I know... I know that the history there is strained. But. If it could be a home for our family, we would be making new memories there. Beautiful memories." A soft smile flitted across her face at the idea of little feet running through the halls. "Horrible things happened there. But it has housed the Malfoy family for centuries before Voldemort set his mark on it. I will have some... very strict requirements though. Family portraits that cannot restrain themselves from insulting me or any of my children will be taken down and locked in vaults. I want to be able to make changes. I want to.. make the home my own. Our own." She said, her eyes meeting each of her mates in turn.

Lucius was already nodding. "The Manor has long since needed a revamp. Think of it as a blank slate. Bare bones for you to build around. Before you tour, I can even have it stripped..."

Hermione shook her head, cutting him off. "No. It's good we see it as it is now. Surely your ancestors had some ideas about how to properly lay out a house. Lets see where it's at now and how we feel about it. Charlie will set up a time for us to come over after my heat. As I understand it, he will wake up first."

"Do you have a place to go for your heat?" Severus voiced the question, which confused Hermione slightly.

"Go?"

"You can't stay here, Hermione." Lucius cut in, looking slightly paniced. "You will be caught in the heat. You will be loud, vulnerable, and completely unable to function."

"And I trust Harry and Sirius will keep Charlie and I safe." Hermione said. Lucius recognized the stubborn set of Hermione's jaw, but apparently Severus completely missed it.

"You cannot trust these.." When Severus finally caught her eye, he drifted off, gulping back whatever he was going to say.

"Please continue." Hermione's hard voice left no question as to how she was taking this turn of the conversation.

"I'd... rather not." Severus grit his teeth to grind out the next words, "Your friends will be fantastic guards for you during your heat. I was just worried about their safety."

"Sure you were. Harry and Sirius have already been warned to stay far away from us during the heat, and to let us approach them first after the heat. They will be fine. We will be fine. Thank you for your opinion." With that, the conversation was done, and Severus was frustrated, which seemed to amuse Harry and Sirius to no end.

With a sigh Hermione yawned and stretched. "I'm so sorry Lucius, Severus... I'm suddenly quite tired. Please forgive me. I must go lay down and sleep. I'll be seeing you later."

All three of the dracken males in the room latched onto this small bit of information, but it was Severus who spoke. "You're at the twelve hour mark. Keep her safe Charlie. We will see you in one week." With that, Lucius and Severus made a swift exit, leaving Harry and Sirius confused as Hermione went into her room and snuggled into a nest of blankets to sleep.

"Twelve hours?" Harry inquired.

"Yes. For the approximately twelve hours preceding a heat, the submissive sleeps to prepare for the coming attraction. She will wake to the heat. It's starting. I will go join her. It's best that you stay away. I don't want you to get hurt." With that Charlie shifted to his dracken form and followed Hermione to the room, leaving Harry and Sirius alone.


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33 **

**A/N: **Thank you to AlaskanAppaloosa for being my beta! You are a doll and I can't believe how easy you make this process! Thank you so much.

Thank you to all of you who review! It makes my entire day brighter and makes writing so much easier! You're amazing and it's all of you I write for.

While Hermione slept, Charlie prepared the room for the heat, moving about in his dracken form. Several hours were spent warding the room against all intruders, using his own blood as the basis of the spell.

Another few hours were spent preparing the bed and all the surrounding area. The bed was made and padded with extra blankets and pillows, which he knew Hermione would appreciate later that week, and all around the bed furniture was moved away, so that in the blind mating, neither he nor Hermione would be injured on it.

Finally, Charlie could think of nothing else to do to prepare for the heat but wait. He tried to sleep, but his dracken was on full alert knowing that the heat was coming, and it took all his self control to not constantly patrol the room for threats.

Charlie knew the moment that Hermione woke and the heat started. He could nearly taste the flood of hormones Hermione's body released as she stirred.

Hermione woke to a small pain as her wings and scales sprouted, but within seconds the pain was eclipsed by the burning heat that swept through her body. The keening cry that slipped past her lips begged her mate to make the burning stop, that she'd do anything to make it end. Instantly Charlie was there, shushing her gently even as he slid inside her, beginning the mating that would continue for the next week, and easing the inferno scorching Hermione from the inside out.

Neither Harry or Sirius heard anything from the room for the following week, though more than once they put their ears to the door, listening for signs of life. It was a bit of a shock for them when exactly a week later, Charlie emerged.

Harry flinched a bit to see the state the man was in. Covered in sweat and Harry didn't want to know what else, exhausted, and if the mumbling about 'food' was anything to go by, hungry.

Thankfully Lucius, in anticipation of Charlie waking that day, had sent over Tippy to cook, and Charlie voraciously attacked the spread of food she had laid out, devouring far more than either of the other men thought possible. Neither dared to approach him, watching from a distance as Charlie slowly came back to himself.

"I know you're out there. It's safe. Come on out." Charlie said as he swallowed the last of the huge meal.

Harry and Sirius cautiously join Charlie at the table, sitting across from him as Charlie slowly pulled back his dracken traits, sinking into a more human form.

"So... everything went well then?" Harry queried, to Charlie's nod.

"Yes. Everything went fine. The bond is solidified, and Hermione should wake tomorrow. She needs more rest than I do." Charlie took another moment to eat before he continued. "When she wakes... she will be angry with me. Unreasonably so. Her dracken wants chicks, and will know she isn't pregnant after that heat. It may get a bit violent, especially for the first couple of hours. Hermione may need some time to snap out of it."

Both Harry and Sirius nodded, Hermione having already warned them this may happen. "Is there anything we can do to help?" Sirius wondered aloud.

Charlie simply shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. It's just something her dracken has to deal with. She will begin the process of taking her other mates within a couple days of the heat, which will calm her dracken. For now? I will join her, and wait for her to wake. Tell Tippy that Hermione will be sleeping another twenty-four hours. She will want the house clean."

When Charlie reentered the room, he grimaced at the mess. The bed Hermione slept so soundly in was torn and tattered, marred by grasping claws. Every surface within the vicinity was covered in a variety of bodily fluids, and one of the bedside tables had been crushed in their ardour. Feathers were strewn across the room from where Hermione had shredded a pillow, and there was a hole ripped in the wall where Charlie had gripped. With a sigh, Charlie set about cleaning up the destruction.

With a wave of his wand, Hermione and the blanket she had cocooned herself within rose into the safety of midair as Charlie repaired the mattress. Springs shifted back into place, fabric stitched itself back together, and all traces of bodily fluids were banished. Another few swishes and the sheets were clean and replaced, and Hermione was settled back into her little nest atop the made bed.

It didn't take long for the wall and bedside table to be mended, but the feathers were frustrating. Every time he summoned them for banishment, more feathers wiggled their way free of crevasses around the room. Finally an hour later Charlie was certain he gotten them all, and swore to replace all their pillows with muggle ones that were stuffed with anything but feathers.

Finally the room was prepared for her awakening as best he could make it. After re-warding the room quite thoroughly, and admonishing Harry and Sirius to keep Hermione safe, Charlie left to hunt. He needed more to eat, fresher food to eat with the dracken so close to the surface. His mate, when she woke, would expect food. He brought down a large buck for himself and gorged on the carcass still rich with blood until he felt he could eat no more. Still covered in the remains of his last kill, he brought down another, younger buck for Hermione. He skinned and gutted it there in the forest, getting quite covered in gore.

When Charlie came back into the house, both Harry and Sirius grimaced to see him. With a small grunt of frustration Charlie cleaned himself with a _scourgify_. The dracken within him felt no need to make the prey comfortable.

Charlie ripped down the wards for what he had affectionately started thinking of as 'the lair' with a sweep of his wand. Settling the carcass near the foot of the bed, away from the carpet lest Hermione make him scrub it later, he took one more sweep around the room, making sure all was prepared. When his dracken was convinced it was, Charlie settled into the bed with a deep sigh of relief, slowly slipping his arms and wings around his mate. It didn't take long for him to drift into sleep, filled with sweet dreams of his mate.

Unfortunately, when Hermione woke, it was not his kind and gentle mate who greeted him. Instead, a growling, angry dracken ripped herself out of his arms.

Hermione beat against the wall, and Charlie, wisely kept far away. It took about ten minutes for her dracken to slowly back down and the human to have control enough to speak.

"I know it's unreasonable. I know that you couldn't help it. I know that I don't even want a child right this instant. But that doesn't stop me from being angry. It doesn't stop me from wanting to rip your throat out for failing." The words were broken and harsh. Hermione had spent much of the last week whining and screaming, and her vocal chords were raw and sore. Charlie's heart broke a bit at the words, and his dracken felt near panic at the idea that his mate may leave because he failed to impregnate her.

Thankfully the more rational human brain won out in the end. "I know. I'm sorry. I... there is nothing I can do to change that for you right now. That feeling will only fade with time and choosing another mate." Hermione and Charlie had had extensive talks about how these days following the heat would go. They chose not to recall the mating meetings, instead calling Lucius and Severus to the house as soon as Hermione felt well enough to, to cement the new bond. Neither one enjoyed living in this limbo.

Hermione nodded, then croaked out. "I'm starving. Please tell me there is food, or I may have to start eating my own arm."

Charlie chuckled and kicked the carcass he had laid out for her in response. "For you, my lady, I would hate to see your lovely body marred, even for your own sustenance." Hermione snorted at the flowery language only a moment before she fell on the deer, groaning deeply at the sharp blood. Charlie watched on in pride as Hermione gorged, her wings fluttering in satisfaction as she ate more than either ever thought possible. When she finally sat back onto the floor, her stomach was so full it pooched out, which made Charlie chuckle a bit.

"Feel a bit better?" He smiled when Hermione nodded, rubbing her belly slowly. "Turns out you were just hangry."

Hermione chuckled at the reference. Weeks before Harry had said it passingly to Hermione and Charlie had thought it was wonderful. Since then it had made frequent appearances. "Yes, I suppose I was. The urge to find another mate is still strong, almost overwhelmingly so, but I don't want to rip your head from your shoulders anymore, so I suppose that's a bonus."

Charlie bared his teeth in pride at his fierce mate. "I do enjoy having my head. Turns out I need that to live, who knew!"

Hermione burst into laughter, but it was soon cut off by a low groan. "Merlin, muscles I didn't know I have hurt. Who thought sex for a week straight was a good idea?"

Charlie just shook his head as he handed her a potion that Severus had sent over quite awhile before. "This will help."

Hermione gasped with joy at the sight of the potion. "Oh goodness, I had forgotten about that. Remind me to thank Severus later." It took only a small amount of potion for her entire body to relax. The potion was a mix of a muscle relaxer and a simple healing potion that soothed away her bruises and aches, and allowed her tense muscles to heal.

The one downfall of the potion was that it made her weak. Her muscles, rapidly healing, longed to continue in their relaxation, and Hermione slumped to the floor. Thankfully, they had been expecting this. Charlie gently picked her up and carried her bridal style to the tub, where he gently cleaned her of the grime, sweat, and bodily fluids of the week of heat, and the blood of her meal. Hermione sank into the bliss of the muscle relaxer, slightly high with it. After she was fully clean, the two of them snuggled in for one more nap.

The boys could wait. She'd see them tomorrow. For now, sleep.


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34**

**A/N: **Ok y'all. I think it's time I set myself some guidelines here. I will PLAN to give my beta, AlaskanAppaloosa(Who is, btw, amazing), my chapter on thursday and then publish on saturday. And if I get more than that done per week, it's a bonus. Because I'm finding that the more time I take where I want 'inspiration to strike' is making it harder to write than ever. So. DEADLINES. XD

Anyways. A chapter. Thank you to all the new followers and favourites and reviewers! I love you all!

I also have a question for you guys. Would you like if I included my pinterest boards that I 'brainstorm' on, or my playlists that I listen to as I write? Let me know if you'd like to see those things!

Slytherclaw Black – It was so fun watching your reviews show up as you read on! Thank you! It made me giggle throughout the day as I saw one after another pop up.

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Hermione was awoken the next morning by a thin stream of light from the door. She smiled and giggled a bit to herself when she heard Harry and Sirius outside bickering.

"You dunderhead, they're still sleeping!" Harry whispered, followed by a thump that was clearly him smacking Sirius.

"No they're not. They're totally awake. They've been in there for like two days now! Even after a week of sex, no one can be that tired." Sirius retorted, to which Harry made a doubtful sound.

"Come on in, boys." Hermione called, thankful that Charlie had convinced her to put on some clothing before they slept, in anticipation of this very thing.

"I told you they're awake!" Sirius hollered as he threw open the door. Charlie groaned and snuggled deeper in the bed, but was soon disturbed by two very wiggly bodies jumping onto the mattress and wedging around his mate.

"We missed you!" Harry nearly whined as he hugged his friend.

Sirius on the other hand was poking Hermione's curls dubiously. "These... these are worse than normal. I don't think even a spell can get these back to something manageable." Hermione, in retaliation, grabbed his face in her hand and shoved his head down into the pillow.

"I love you, Hermione! Wow you look awful! Thanks for that." She drolled at him, to Sirius' double thumbs up and Harry's laughter.

Charlie groaned and swatted at the lot of them, connecting with Harry and Sirius but narrowly missing Hermione. "Why. Why are you guys so loud?"

"Because we're amazing." Hermione quipped back, leaning over Sirius' still wiggling body to plant a kiss on Charlie's head. "You love us."

"You're lucky I do." Charlie sighed as he slipped out of bed grumpily, heading to the bathroom.

The boys and Hermione quickly made use of the space he left free in the bed, settling into their normal sleeping and talking arrangement, with Hermione's head resting on Sirius' shoulder, and Harry sprawled beside them, his legs thrown over Hermione's.

"Tell me everything."

"Well. Ron showed up here halfway through the week expecting to find somehow that you had 'come to your senses' and were ready to run away with him." Harry said with a deep eye roll.

"I set him straight pretty quick." Sirius snarked. "He's... gonna find it hard to... perform with his passel of witches over the next week or so."

Hermione wished she could feel some remorse through her giggles, but it just didn't come. "What does he expect? That somehow I will deny my dracken instincts to stay with him? Give up my ability to have children for his philandering self? No. Just... no. Thanks for debilitating him for awhile."

"Let's be honest, Kitten, he's had it coming for awhile." Sirius stopped to ponder for a moment, "Let me think, what else happened? Well, it's only been about a week, so not a ton to be honest. Lucius and Severus sent several owls inquiring if all was going to plan and checking in on you guys..."

Hermione flushed with happiness at this bit of news, and Harry smirked at her. "So the choice is made then?"

Hermione nodded, sitting up a bit further in the bed to the groans of its other occupants as everyone rearranged themselves. "Yes. If I'm honest? I think the decision has been made for quite some time. Charlie offers the family I needed, but Severus offers me a voice for my non-traditional dracken self to speak, and Lucius offers financial security, not to mention they are all strong, competent, protective..."

"And not bad on the eyes." Sirius smirked, to Hermione's blushing nod.

"There is that. Together they are a trio that offers my dracken nearly everything it needs."

"Do you think you'll need another mate?" Harry's query drew a deep sigh and shrug from Hermione. The honest truth was she just didn't know. Even if Severus and Lucius were enough for her to conceive, Hermione was aware she might need another mate to ground her magic.

"I... don't know. I know who I will pick if there is the need for another, I think. But I won't know until after my next heat if I will need another." Hermione heaved another sigh, "And honestly? I don't know if I want one. I feel that our mateship will be fine without a fifth. But... you've heard the stories.."

Sirius and Harry turned slightly green at the mention of the chapter they had all hated the most in the dracken book. It detailed what happened to dracken submissives who decided not to take a grounding mate. It often involved slaughtering their children, their mates, and going completely and brutally insane. The stories were written by surviving families, who had had to watch their loved one executed, and served as a solemn reminder to submissives that grounding mates weren't optional. Very few submissives had survived, and never changed after refusing the final mating.

At this point, Charlie joined them back in bed. "As much as I hate the idea of sharing you even more than I will already have to... Please take a grounding mate if you need it. Our family will stretch and fit whoever it has to. But this family won't be a family without you." It was a strangely vulnerable moment for her mate to have in front of Harry and Sirius, and Hermione appreciated it.

"I will. But it doesn't mean I have to like the idea right now. I'm sure I'll get used to it. Did anything else happen?"

The question was queried to Harry, who simply shook his head and then snuggled deeper into her side, returning the question with one of his own. "Do you two have any plans for the next few days?"

"I think touring the Manor is the only thing that I really pressingly want to get to. That and starting the bond with Severus and Lucius. I think I would like to take care of that right away actually." Hermione grimaced at her mate for a moment before she continued. "This urge to rip Charlie limb from limb will apparently ease once another mating bond has been initiated."

"I'd pay to see that fight." Sirius quipped, to which Hermione and Charlie ganged up and rolled him off the bed in an undignified heap. Harry, while laughing at him, fell off himself, pulling the sheets down off the bed with him. As was expected, Hermione and Charlie laughed hard and long at the tangle of limbs, sheets, and cursing that happened as the two men tried to figure out how to stand again.

Just as the two of them got nearly free, Hermione stepped out of bed and with a wave of the wand that had been sitting on her bedside table, tightened the sheets around them once again. "Next time, don't wake me." Sirius and Harry squawked indignantly and renewed their struggles, while Charlie chuckled.

"You guys think you'd learn."

"Never." Sirius spat back with a grin.

It took Hermione several hours to clean herself of all the remaining residue from the heat. Her human form was quite easy, but her dracken form had feathers that needed some serious preening. To her surprise, Hermione found that the instinctual cleaning was aided by her claws and teeth. It also felt wonderful to settle into the hot water of the shower, fanning her feathers out to catch the flow. Closer examination showed that some of her scales and feathers were already showing a slight orange tint, which made her dracken fawn and coo.

With a sigh of regret, Hermione shifted back to her human form and continued to prepare for the day. Her clothing for the day was purposefully casual and good for walking. A well-worn pair of jeans made the cut, as did a simple grey sweatshirt and a comfortable pair of white slip-ons. For a moment, Hermione debated leaving her beautiful dragon-hide robe at home, but she slipped it on at the last moment.

"Thank you."

Hermione screamed and spun, reaching for her wand. She stopped herself just short of cursing the intruder. "Charlie! You can't sneak up on me like that!"

"I was quite loud, not my fault that you were caught up in your contemplations." Charlie smirked, leaning against the door jam of her wardrobe. "Thanks for wearing your robes. They are meant to be worn as often as possible. We are going somewhere you... have a history. A place that I don't fully trust. The robes will give me some peace of mind."

Hermione nodded and turned back into the closet to grab a ponytail holder, only to squeak in shock when her mate was suddenly behind her, grabbing her hips, his lips on her neck. "Show me." He growled against her neck. "Show me your wings. Show me my colors." His fangs grazed her throat as she complied, her wings unfolding behind her. Charlie had to remove himself from her neck to give her some room, but Hermione was shocked to find that the colour was darker than before, tinting further towards Charlie's burnt orange.

Charlie growled a happy growl as he stroked her wings, to her gasps and moans. "Mine. My mate." His lips were suddenly on her own, she had barely noticed when he spun her around.

"Yours." Hermione whispered against his lips, before he pulled her into a searing kiss.

With a heavy sigh, Charlie pulled away. "We have plans. And I suspect you are sore." Hermione flushed, but nodded in confirmation. "There's nothing to be ashamed of Hermione.. Wait. I'm an idiot."

Hermione was more than a bit shocked when Charlie ripped into his wrist, and the thought crossed her mind that maybe she would never get fully used to this dracken thing. "Drink. It will heal your bruising. You won't need much." Knowing that once Charlie had something in his head for her own good, he wouldn't let it go, Hermione took a few mouthfuls of blood. Immediately she could feel the healing properties of her mate's blood easing any residual aches and pains from the fervent mating of the heat.

"Thank you. But still no sex. We have plans today." Charlie chuckled at Hermione's no funny business tone she adopted, but nodded in consent. Hermione pressed her lips to his one more time before retracting her wings and heading for the door.

Thankfully the elf Lucius had sent over had a variety of foods available, as Hermione found she wanted most everything. Sirius and Harry had informed Lucius and Severus that the heat was done, and that Hermione would like them to stop by as soon as possible. Neville had popped in the day before, and had told the boys to pass the message on to Hermione that he would stop by sometime in the next day as he suspected they would all need some time to adjust. This was the most Neville thing Hermione had ever heard, as he was always so considerate of those around him. She made a note to herself to make something special when he came over.

The floo flaring was the only thing that announced Lucius and Severus' appearance to Hermione, but she swore she could feel the energy in the house change.

Hermione slowly stood, spinning to face the men as they entered the room. Charlie flanked her as she slowly shifted to dracken form, her wings spreading wide. Harry and Sirius both gasped in awe and more than a bit of fear at the reminder that something completely foreign to them lived in their friend. Both Lucius and Severus stepped into the room looking as human as possible, but seeing her dracken form, both swiftly switched themselves, ruining their shirts as their physiques expanded to accommodate their changing forms.

Hermione took a deep breath before stepping forward. "Do you consent?" She whispered to the two men, who turned feral eyes to her.

"Hermione, I can say with confidence that neither of us would like anything more than to mate with you." Lucius whispered, but Hermione's eyes still searched Severus' own. She wasn't sure what she saw there that settled her soul, but when she stepped towards the two males, Hermione was completely assured of her choice.

Severus was the first to grab her hand, pulling her close to his body. To her shock though, he spun her around, pressing her back to his chest as Lucius caught her lips in a hard kiss. The mating bond formed instantly, drawing a deep moan out of both Lucius and Hermione. With a pleased growl Lucius pulled his lips away from her, his hand sliding down her body to grip her hips, and spin them slowly so Severus could plunder her mouth. Hermione couldn't help but compare the two kisses. Where Lucius was all fire and passion, Severus was thorough patience, almost drawing the mating bond out of her slowly. He left no doubt in Hermione's mind that he would be a captivating lover. The mating bond solidified between the three of them, drawing a shuddering sigh out of Hermione as the tension towards Charlie melted out of her frame.

Hermione barely noticed when Charlie moved to join the group, catching her lips after Severus had let them go. Three sets of hands roamed her body, and the flurry of gold, black, and orange wings was reminiscent of a wildfire, matching the heat of the moment.

It took several minutes before the flurry of the settling bond allowed the four drackens to take a step back from each other. Both Harry and Sirius was cautious, as they had seen how Hermione reacted with Charlie at first. She had been violently drawn to him, and had immediately needed time alone to settle the bond. Neither of the boys wanted to get between the drackens and their needs.

Hermione was the first back to human form, her wings receding into her back. Charlie and Lucius followed soon after, but it took several more minutes for Severus to gain enough control to shift back. Large grins split all their faces, and Harry was shocked to find that that included Snape. It seemed the man had a heart afterall.

"Well. That was... wonderful." Hermione whispered, before turning to her boys. "We are going to the Manor. Are you guys coming?"

The two shared a look before nodding. "Yes, we think we will, if you and your mates will have us."

"We would be honoured." Lucius said, grinning at being included in her mates.

"Ok then. Let's go." Hermione grasped Severus' hand as she stepped into the floo, calling out "Malfoy Manor!" as she threw the powder, disappearing into the flames.

"She really wastes no time, does she?" Lucius queried, to the three remaining head-shaking grins. He sighed deeply before stepping into the floo. "We will need to change that."


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35**

A/N: Thank you to my amazing beta AlaskanAppaloosa. She's truly the best.

Miss quirky bookworm – It's not often I see someone here who read the original series! Thank you! It has been a LOT of fun so far!

Thank you everyone for your AMAZING reviews. I read every one and each one makes me smile.

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Hermione wasn't sure what she was expecting when she exited the floo. The Manor had been a dark and forbidding place the last time she had stepped through its doors. Lucius had said it had had extensive remodeling, but if she was honest, that didn't describe just how much work must have gone into this building.

The traces of dark magic that permeated the very stone of the building had been cleansed away, leaving sparkling stone in its place, ridding the house of its dark and oppressing feel. Hermione took a couple of small steps into the entrance hall the floo was located in, spinning slowly to take it all in. The marble floors were bright, but offset by warm dark stained wood accents and trim. The furniture that sat against the walls was a mix of more modern pieces and pieces that had clearly been there for hundreds of years, in a variety of creams and whites, with wooden accents. It gave the room a very welcoming and calming feel.

The floo flared behind her, and Hermione spun to see Lucius stepping out of the fireplace, looking almost sheepish. "We... redid everything. In some rooms we stripped everything. In other we painted, replaced furniture.. There was an interior designer involved, as this is not a skill I personally have."

Hermione smiled warmly, motioning to the room. "This is lovely, Lucius. I would have never guessed the manor could feel so... welcoming." If Lucius' face was anything to go by, he was intensely proud that his new mate found his home to her tastes. Dracken society was very much old fashioned, with males providing shelter and provision, and the females caring for the home and children. That set of old-fashioned values was ingrained in them in a way that most humans would never understand. Knowing that he was providing for his mate caused Lucius' dracken to puff out with pride and contentment that he was filling his role.

"Of course," Lucius continued as the floo flared once again and the other three stepped into the house, "You can redecorate anything to your taste, and I fear that it lacks... a woman's touch. A family touch perhaps. I imagine your home will be covered in pictures of the children, silly knickknacks, and-"

"Flowers. Lots of flowers." Hermione whispered, her eyes assessing the room, nodding.

"I dare say between Mr. Green Thumb and your brother, you will be well supplied." Severus smiled at the wonder in her gaze.

"Wow." That exclamation came from Harry, but murmurs of assent were echoed by Charlie and Sirius. "This place looks amazing. I would have never recognized it."

"That was the entire point, Mr. Potter." Lucius drawled, his tone so like Severus' that Hermione giggled. Lucius' eyes then widened in horror as Sirius walked over to the sitting area, throwing himself gracelessly on an antique couch.

"Oh, this is nice." Sirius groaned, stretching out. Hermione stole a glance at Lucius' face, which made her nearly collapse in a fit of giggles.

"Let it go, Lucius. You're gonna have to get used to them at some point, they're not going anywhere."

"But... it's a sixteenth century couch!" Lucius nearly whimpered, to another smirk from Hermione.

"And I bet it's protected by more magic than you can even name."

Lucius looked affronted. "Of course I can name the magic! Bu that is entirely beside the point! There must be some manners that are maintained!"

Hermione sighed and raised her eyebrow at her mate, waiting. Lucius growled in the most frustrated and human noise Hermione had ever heard him make.

"Fine. But if they scuff the floors I'll make them scrub them by hand. With... with a muggle toothbrush!" The look of sheer triumph on his face made his mates all burst into laughter, even Severus cracking a smile.

"You heard him boys. Have some manners." Hermione called out to Sirius, who had grabbed a pillow and looked ready to hit Harry with it.

With a long-suffering sigh the pillow dropped. "Fine, Mom.." Sirius whined, to an eye roll from the collected.

"What do you want to see first, Hermione?" Lucius queried, slipping her arm into his own. "I would be happy to show you anything you'd like, or we can just set off on a grand tour."

"I think the grand tour would be lovely." Hermione said as Severus settled onto her left, and Charlie behind her. "Let's start... there." She indicated one of the many heavy wooden doors leading off the foyer, ignoring the grand staircase that took up the majority of one wall.

"As you wish." The caravan of people moved through the door, finding it led into a long hallway that was filled with old family portraits.

Lucius glared at them all as they walked. "Those who could not hold their tongue have been silenced." His face softened as they approached a portrait of a beautiful blonde woman in a clearly more modern portrait. "Mother. May I introduce my mate, Hermione Granger."

Hermione was more than a bit shocked at the announcement, but curtsied deeply to the portrait. "It's lovely to meet you, ma'am."

"And you, Ms. Granger." The beautiful woman smiled, "I see you have made my son very happy. Thank you. This house needs some happiness."

Hermione grinned and nodded. "I agree, hopefully I can live up to your expectations."

"I have no doubt you will, Hermione. It was lovely to meet you."

"And you ma'am." Another curtsey followed before Hermione slowly moved on, guided by Lucius.

"Ask the question I can hear brewing in that beautiful head." Lucius said as he stopped and met her eyes.

Hermione was puzzled. "Your mother seemed.. lovely. How did you get to be so... ingrained with..."

"Hatred? Fear of everything that is not traditional? Overly protective?" Lucius was clearly amused by the question, and even more so by Hermione's blushing nod. "I believe it started with my father. He was a full-blooded dracken, going back many generations. He loved my mother deeply, and when she died having her first clutch, which resulted in only me, he... changed." Lucius' gaze grew dark and stormy as he continued. "His friends who knew him before say he was much like I am now. Formal, but loving, and he doted on my mother. But something broke in him the day she died. He raised me to the best of his abilities, but his dracken saw all humans as threats, and the paranoia passed down onto myself. By the time I was old enough to realize what it was doing to me, I was already contracted to the Dark Lord."

Sympathy washed over Hermione as she nodded. "Well. We won't make that mistake with our children." She didn't see the grins that all three of her mates shared behind her back, nor the eye rolls that Sirius and Harry gave them in return.

Lucius walked them to the very end of the hallway, but before he swung open the large wooden doors there he stated "Remember, Hermione, we can't spend all day in this room. There is a whole manor to see."

"Oh come on, what could be in there that I would want to spend all day there?"

Severus chuckled and swung open the doors. "See for yourself."

Hermione seemed stunned by the library that was revealed, but Harry's sigh and Sirius' mumbled 'We're never going to get her out of here.' made Severus' lips quirk into a smile again.

Lucius smiled down at his mate proudly, and Charlie nudged her forward gently. "Go on, love." He whispered. Hermione's feet moved a slow bit forward before she shook her head and backed up.

"When I see this library properly? We're gonna spend the whole day getting to know each other. I refuse to rush this. I want to treasure it." Hermione allowed herself one long look at the library before she walked back into the hallway.

"I'm impressed with your self control, Love." Charlie commended her.

"It's selfish really. Once I get in there I don't want to leave."

"Well, there are many other things the Manor has to show you, I promise you will get a good bit of time in the library this week." Lucius' vow made Hermione smile, and she gave him a quick hug, which he awkwardly returned. It seemed that Lucius was very much not used to casual touching, which Hermione vowed to change.

"Thank you, Lucius. What's next?" With a wave of his hand, Lucius indicated a door down the hall, and the caravan set off again. Hermione tried to ignore the portraits whispering and pointing at her as she walked, but it was distracting. The tension in Hermione's frame built and bounded until finally it got to be too much, and she spun around to address the room.

All of her mates drank in the sight of her angry and righteous as she nearly yelled to the room. "Yes. It's true. I was raised by muggles! An orphan child, who lived as a muggle-born in your precious wizarding world for years before my inheritance came knocking! Let me tell you about those years." A low growl began from her mates as pure fury built in Hermione.

"I was the most talented child in my school, outstripping every one of your precious pure-blood children in academics. Magic came easily to me, and I stood in the gulf and lobbied for the rights of all magical creatures, especially the ones you pushed to the side! Then. A homicidal maniac started to hunt my best friend." At this Hermione shared a soft look with Harry before she continued. "And I stood up to him too, helping my friend thwart his schemes at every turn!" With a furious growl Hermione bared her arm and removed the glamour she wore over the word 'mudblood' scarred on her arm.

"Your daughter did this! Bellatrix Black! One of your kind! She is dead now, and she's lucky. Because if she wasn't, I'd be hunting her right now, and there would be no mercy for her." A dangerous and hungry rage glinted in Hermione's eyes. "Don't think for a second that my muggle-born heritage makes me weak or foolish. My upbringing has nothing to do with my magical power. It has nothing to do with my worth as a human! I will be the next Lady Malfoy, and you will have to live with the knowledge that your pureblood house is going to be forever perverted by the hopefully many children I will give Lucius! Your legacy is dead. And if it whimpers in one last bid for life I will crush it beneath my feet and rejoice in its death squeal. My children will grow up surrounded by muggle technology, straddling the line between the two worlds. The next generation of Malfoys will be everything you weren't."

Lucius's hand slipped into Hermione's, and she turned to him with a brilliant smile. "They will be kind, and loving. They will be socially conscious and the champions of the downtrodden. They will be fierce in their love and honest in their dealings."

Severus groaned, wiping his head across his face. "Oh Merlin. She's going to make all our children Gryffindors." And with that, the tension broke as they all laughed. The portraits seethed, but Hermione no longer cared.

"Live with that, oh silent ones. Your children will be champions for taking down your cause." Slowly she spun to meet the eyes of her group one by one. "And they will help. Let's go. I'm sure there are a dozen more rooms for us to see."

"A dozen?" Sirius drawled. "I'd take bets on two dozen." Another fit of giggles from the younger people echoed down the hall as Lucius slipped Hermione's arm into his own, guiding her slowly down the hall.

"That's quite the witch you've got there." One portrait stated, to the feral grins of all her mates.

"We know."


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36**

**A/N: **I own nothing. JK Rowling and her publishers do.

Sorry it's been so long since an update ladies and gents! My kids finished school, which of course meant lots of field trips and things, and then my Aunt and Uncle came and visited for a week, and you better believe I was going to spend all the time I could with them. All my family lives far from me (Over 2000 kms), so I treasure every minute. BUT. Here's an update! Thank you all of you for sticking with me this long! You are all phenomenal!

Thank you SO MUCH to my beta AlaskanAppaloosa, who goes over and above, just because she's that awesome.

Also, just a note to remember to review fics you read! Fanfiction authors get paid only in reviews, and we live for every one.

To those who reviews about Ron being a butt? I agree. 100%. :P

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Lucius guided the crowd down the hallway, pointing out the various rooms it connected. It seemed this hallway was mostly opulent offices and even a large conference room. He explained that this entire wing of the house was meant for business and not family living. All the rooms were accessible to those who visited the Manor, and were mostly meant for practical uses. With this in mind, the wing was set up so the only way to exit it was back the way you came with security being the foremost concern. This also had the added benefit of giving those who worked from home a 'safe place', so to speak, away from small children in which to work, while still being close enough to be helpful. It practically sang of practicality and thoughtfulness of design, which Hermione very much appreciated.

Guiding them back through the lobby, Lucius led them to the other end of the main floor, which was set up very similarly, being a self-contained wing connected only to the main lobby. This side though, was all about enjoyment and entertaining. A large ballroom, formal dining room, sitting rooms, and a billiards room were accompanied by a small kitchen that served as a transition point from the big kitchen that Lucius informed her was upstairs in the family living area. The entire wing was set up to make a statement, with grand rococo details on every available surface. It was overwhelming. Hermione had always understood in a purely theoretical sense that the Malfoys were incredibly rich, but this meticulously maintained home showed off that wealth in all it's grandeur.

If Lucius caught just how stunned she was at the display, he tactfully ignored it, choosing instead to outline the various events that he and Draco held every year in these very halls. A Christmas ball was the main to-do, but in June they also held a solstice celebration. These events were a chance to make connections with business partners and other aristocratic families. In addition to this, the Malfoys once a year held a dracken-only event, which featured live hunts and displays of skill from prominent dracken performers. It all sounded magical and Hermione couldn't wait to jump in with two feet into helping with everything.

If Hermione was honest though, she was happy they didn't spend too much time in this wing of the house. The reality was, she was there to see if she could make this a place that they could raise her children in, and while this first floor was lovely, it wasn't the living area. The dracken part of her mind whispered to her constantly about how this next heat would probably lead to a pregnancy, which in turn would mean that she needed a home, and now. There was also a certain allure to simply having a place that was hers. A place she could settle down and sink roots into. Hogwarts, while wonderful, had not been conductive to this, and neither had the orphanage, regardless of how she had considered it home . It seemed Lucius had picked up on the urgency in her, and he breezed them very quickly through the smaller area that was off the main foyer, which included mostly powder rooms and bathrooms for guests, along with a child and nursing-friendly bathroom that was utilized quite a bit during dracken parties.

Hermione wasn't the only one flagging by the time Lucius finally guided the group to the large staircase that was the center-piece of the foyer. Harry and Sirius were both smothering yawns, while both Charlie and Severus had clearly tuned out at the ballroom.

This changed though as they started up the stairs and Lucius explained the house set-up more thoroughly. The main floor was all accessible to guests, while the second floor was the main living area for the family, and had been the part of the house that had undergone extensive renovations after Voldemort had left. The top floor was entirely bedrooms and personal spaces for the family.

Lucius explained that it was tricky to know precisely how many bedrooms existed in the house at any one time. These parts of the home, influenced over hundreds of years by magical people living there, had become semi-sentient and magical, producing rooms or moving around things as it felt the family needed. It seemed to be especially responsive to Lucius' needs, and sometimes would even respond to his spoken requests. Hermione found this fascinating, while Sirius whispered to Harry that if they found something they didn't like about the house, they'd better keep their mouth shut, as they didn't want to offend it. If Harry found anything strange about being able to offend a house, he wisely decided to hold his tongue.

The large door at the top of the stairs opened into what Hermione could best describe as a living room, though it looked like no living room she had ever seen before. Nevertheless, this was clearly the main living area of the floor. Whoever the interior designer was, Hermione needed to give them a good solid kiss. Even in her wildest imagination, she had never expected a potential home to look this amazing.

The overall feeling of the space was airy and warm, all whites and greys and soft edges. Large windows gave so much natural light her dracken preened, and before Hermione realized it was happening, she had stepped into the puddle of sunlight and released her wings, sighing happily as the sunlight hit her scales. Her eyes scanned the rest of the room slowly, all too aware that Lucius had nearly stopped breathing to hear her dracken's reaction.

The room was ridiculously large, and split into several different sections with the clever use of furniture. The area directly in front of the window, where Hermione currently stood, was clearly created for her specifically. It featured a comfortable window seat, small built-in book shelves, and an off-white fluffy carpet that begged to be curled up on. She could easily imagine curling up there with a big fluffy blanket and a good book.

Directly in front and to the left was what Hermione deemed 'the social area'. It was dominated by an obscenely large sectional in a soft grey fabric. Thrown on the sofa were many pillows in a variety of whites, soft teals, and golds, giving the room a playful vibe that Hermione loved. More bookshelves took up the one wall, and there was a conspicuously blank space above the white fireplace that she suspected the interior decorator had left for a television. The comfortable chairs that were nestled in this area were a mix of patterns and fabrics, and yet all blended perfectly with the other furniture pieces. The only common theme seemed to be the inclusion of white, gold, and the soft teal that Hermione loved. The crown molding Hermione was sure was original to the house led her to the dining area, which she could easily envision swarming with children. The grey table and white chairs were sturdy and obviously chosen with a family in mind. They were also remarkably unpretentious, which Hermione was one hundred percent sure had been a fight Lucius had had with the decorator.

Looking around the room, she saw his influence everywhere. In the gold accents that permeated the entire room, in the obvious care that was given to quality of products used, in the large ornate mirrors that were scattered throughout the room. It even reached into what was clearly an area made as a play spot for children, with a soft teal rug on the floor. Beautiful handmade toys were already set neatly on shelved waiting for little hands to grab them, and if Hermione had to hazard a guess, the beautiful, ornate, white toy box with the words 'Everyday is magic with you' beautifully written in gold script on it was Lucius' choice as well.

There was a small kitchen that sat next to the dining room that blended beautifully with the aesthetic of the rest of the room, without drawing from its hominess. It clearly wasn't for cooking large meals in, but Hermione knew that the Malfoys employed an army of house elves that did most of the cooking for them. Still, it was perfectly serviceable for her needs, and she could easily see teaching her children to bake there. The rest of the floor plan was very open, with lots of room for a very large family to enjoy life together.

Hermione was broken out of her careful perusal by her boys. Both of them took a whooping dive onto the couch, sending the pillows in every direction. "Now _this__, _Kitten." Sirius yelled as he smacked Harry with a pillow. "This is a home."

Hermione had never seen her mates look so vulnerable as they did at that moment. Especially Lucius seemed to have put his heart on his sleeve, desperately hoping that she would enjoy the home he had obviously put a lot of effort into.

"Yes. Yes it is." Lucius visibly relaxed at statement, while Charlie nodded, clearly looking over the space himself. Severus had obviously been in here before, and looking around Hermione could see his subtle hand as well, in the more practical aspects of the home. The comfortable throw blankets that had been put on the couch, the muggle appliances that peppered the kitchen, and the small toy potions kit that sat in the childrens' section.

Lucius stepped forward to tuck her arm in his own and guide her around, telling her of how the designer had put a focus on both functionality and form. Off the main room, everything got a bit more flexible. The rooms had been redecorated as the house had allowed them and Lucius admitted he wasn't sure that all the rooms had been done, while others had been purposefully left undone. The master bedroom, nursery, and children's rooms had been left untouched, in anticipation of his mate wanting to put a personal touch on them herself. Hermione was very grateful for this, as her only complaint about the house so far was that it, while beautiful, was cold. A home from a magazine rather than a home to be lived in.

Lucius seemed amused when she slipped from his arm and walked around the room, cataloguing out loud all the things she would need to make the home her own. The reading corner was screaming for her comfy reading pillow, and of course, her books. The living room needed pictures of all their friends and family, and some of the knickknacks they had all collected over the years. Harry chimed in that the kitchen clearly needed her kitchen aid mixer on the counter and Hermione couldn't help but agree.

"Yes. I could see this as my home. It just needs a bit of us. Then it will be perfect." Never in her life had Hermione been so happy as the moment all three of her mates descended on her, all snuggling up to her in a great big group hug in the middle of their new home.


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter 37**

**A/N:** Thank you so much to my wonderful beta AlaskanAppaloosa! You're my hero!

To the reviewer who asked if Hermione and her mates would be outed as drackens just for being poly. In my head cannon, the wizarding world is totally open to poly relationships. I kind of assume that in a world like this, drackens and other magical creatures and their supporters would have put in the cultural work long ago to make poly a totally normal thing, even if muggle borns don't understand it. But. You gave me a great idea for a plot point later, so thank you!

* * *

The group hug was abruptly ended when Sirius and Harry joined in, with the former jumping onto Severus' back with a mocking blubbering "Oh I love you so much!" It was only through Hermione's quick intervention that Sirius kept his arms. It would have helped her case if her boys could stop laughing, but the look on Severus' face had just been too much for them to contain themselves.

Once ruffled feathers were settled, the tour continued. On the main living floor, there were several large empty rooms that Lucius explained were left so specifically for Hermione, which she appreciated. One for sure would become her muggle room, but she wasn't sure what she would do with the others.

Apparently most of the formal sitting rooms had been remodeled out and the space they had occupied now contained the 'big room' as Hermione had started to think of it. Behind the scenes she was thrilled to find that the army of house elves who kept the manor running were both well cared for and paid. They had regular days off, and enjoyed their work very much.

When the elves noticed her arrival, the head elf, a very stern-looking female elf named Bippy, approached.

"Missy Hermy. The elves of Malfoy Manor are to be asking that you not gives us clothes. We are to be liking our jobs here at the Manor. We takes days off and gets paid, and have many lovely things that we keeps in our rooms. We don't need your ugly knitted hats." At this Harry and Sirius burst into hysteric laughter, while Hermione flushed bright red.

"Thank you, Bippy. I promise I won't release you. Can I ask how you knew to ask me not to give you clothes?"

Bippy grinned a toothy grin, her hands settling onto her apron. "Winky and Dobby warns us, Miss. Miss will also be allowing the elves to do their jobs, please. We like to helps you and will be very sad if the Miss does not allow us."

"Oh! Yes of course you may continue in your jobs if you want to. May I ask a favor? I suspect that sometime in the next few days I will be moving into the Manor with my mates. When the elves get a chance, could they please introduce themselves to me and let me know what they do? I would very much like to get to know you all."

The elves all turned to one another, sharing deep looks before Bippy nodded solemnly. "We will do this for the Miss. Now leave my kitchen, we are busy."

Lucius hurried them all out, whispering that he wouldn't mess with Bippy if the Dark Lord himself had asked. Apparently the small elf ran the Manor with an iron fist. Sirius snickered at the look of fear in Lucius' eyes, to which the blonde man simply responded, "You wait and see. One day you'll set a foot wrong around her and she'll snap you back into place faster than you can blink. That elf is a drill sergeant in a pink uniform."

"Do the different colors of uniforms denote anything?" Hermione asked, as she had noticed the kitchen was filled with a variety of colors and patterns.

"Not that I'm aware of. When we did our negotiation this last year for salary, the elves conceded to wearing uniforms instead of towels as part of the initial bargain. When they requested no more than three mandatory days off a month when I wanted them to take a minimum of seven, I said they had to use the same pattern for the uniform, but each elf could pick their own fabric, and they could have four days minimum. As far as I'm aware, not a single one wears a pattern another is wearing, and only Bippy wears that awful shade of hot pink."

Hermione grinned at her new mate, "That's amazing. What a strange negotiation, having to force them to take days off. I'm sure it was a great deal of fun for you."

"I heard of nothing else for weeks." Severus piped in, "Bippy is a devil of a negotiator, and more than once Lucius had to leave the negotiation table out of sheer frustration."

Hermione's respect for the small elf went up with every passing sentence. "I can't wait to get to know her better."

Severus struggled to control his snickers at the horrified look at Lucius' face when it occurred to him what he had wrought. "That's right. I was wondering how long it would take you to get it. They're gonna team up on you. You're never making another decision again in your life. That elf already runs over half your life. With Hermione in hand? You're screwed, 'Luccy'."

"Awe, it's ok Luccy." Sirius nudged himself into the conversation, quite literally butting his way in between Hermione and Severus. "You're only going to be a little bit whipped."

"Better whipped than single and alone forever." Lucius snapped back, sneering down at Black, whose hand went up to his own heart.

"You wound me!" With this Sirius dramatically fell on the floor dead to Hermione's eye roll.

"Get up. Do you boys mind heading back to Grimmauld? We'll be there in a bit, and will for sure make it back for supper, but I think the mates and I need to have a talk." Both her boys and Charlie perked up at this, nodding.

"Anything in particular you want for dinner?" Sirius asked as Lucius called an elf to help the boys get back to the main hall.

"I want something Asian. That pho place has been on the corner for awhile, we should try there. Ask the mates what they want if we order." It turned out that Severus had tried Vietnamese food before and knew what he wanted, but the other two just gave vague descriptions of what they liked in the hopes that the boys would be responsible with their choices.

An elf named Bonny came to take her boys back to the floo to get home, curtsying in her green floral dress to Hermione in greeting, which Hermione returned respectfully.

"Thank you, Bonny." Lucius said as she and the boys disapparated to the main hall. He took a deep steadying breath before turning to Hermione. "Is there something in particular you would like to discuss?"

Hermione suddenly found herself under the intense scrutiny of all three of her mates. Instead of shrinking under it she scowled back. "Yes I did, there's no reason to get so intense about it. I'm not mad, and I'm not upset, chill out." Immediately the tension was broken, with a good bit of chuckling making its way from Severus and Charlie.

"I was thinking about living arrangements. I don't think it would be wise for us to spend significant time apart." A rumbling growl of assent was her only response from her mates, "But I also don't think that Harry and Sirius would appreciate us all descending on Grimmauld. So. Is the Manor ready for us to move into tonight? Do we think we could make that happen in such a short time frame?"

For a short moment Lucius seemed completely overwhelmed before his body slammed into Hermione, crushing her into a deep kiss. "Thank you." He whispered against her lips before pulling away and composing himself again. It took Hermione a good moment more to contain the flood of endorphins. "The Manor is ready, and I'm certain the elves would be happy to help us move you in if the six of us can't do it ourselves."

Hermione's eyes sought out Charlie and Severus, silently inquiring about their opinions on this. "Less time spent with the Mutt is always my preference." Was Severus' answer, while Charlie simply responded that he was happy wherever she was happy. This settled it in Hermione's mind.

"Ok. Then let's go home and eat, and then we will get moving."

If Hermione was honest with herself, she wasn't sure what happened next. One minute they were all turning for the door, the next Severus was pushing her behind him as Lucius and Charlie burst into their dracken forms, attacking each other, snarls filling the room. She tried to push through Severus to break it up, but his arms might as well have been iron bars for all the good it did her.

"Severus! You can't let them! Make it stop!"

Severus sighed deeply watching the two tumble around, breaking walls, and more than once a piece of furniture. "No, Hermione. This has been coming all day. What's shocking is that it hasn't happened previously. They need to establish who is the top dominant. If you try to get between them like a dunderhead, you will be injured."

The books Hermione had read about drackens had mentioned that the mates would battle for hierarchical spots, but she hadn't expected the sheer brutality before her. Claws and teeth were flying, and blood soaked the floor under their feet. "How long will this last?" She whispered, terror flooding her system.

"As long as it takes for one of them to concede." Severus responded, his eyes locked on the fighting pair.

"And why aren't you in that mess?" Hermione's eyebrows raised at the slight flush that came to Severus' cheeks at this.

"My place in the hierarchy is already established."

Hermione was puzzled for a moment before it finally clicked. "You bottom Lucius, don't you? When you two are together, you submit to him. So you're at the bottom of the heirarchy." Severus' stiff nod confirmed her thoughts, but just as suddenly as it began, the fight was over. Lucius had Charlie on the floor, his knee pinning the smaller male down to the ground, his hand wrapped around Charlie's neck, claws threatening to slice through his jugular.

"I concede." Charlie ground out, his dracken settling into second place in the hierarchy. Severus finally released Hermione, who ran forward to both her other mates, helping Charlie up and berating them both.

"Of all the stupid things to do! All over the nice floors as well! That wall will never be the same. You couldn't just talk it out?" Before she could heal them at all with her wand, Lucius ripped his own wrist open and offered Charlie the blood that freely flowed, which was gratefully accepted. Within moments, the cuts and bruises started to heal themselves, after which Charlie returned the favour. Hermione refused to clean until she had thoroughly checked both of her mates for injury, and given both long kisses. "Please don't do that again. It was terrifying." The words were whispered against Lucius' lips, but she didn't get the response she was expecting.

"I can't promise that, Hermione." To her shocked look, Lucius gently continued, her eyes holding her own. "We are not human, and you cannot judge us by human standards. Drackens are physical beings. We will fight, we will grapple. As head dominant, I may have to punish other dominants for things done within the marriage that caused harm to you or our children. I cannot and will not promise that that will not happen again."

All he got in response was a stiff nod. With a frustrated growl Hermione started to clean, her wand flicking to clean the floors, while Severus and Charlie repaired the walls and furniture. As Hermione moved around the destruction, she considered Lucius' words. Until now, her interactions with her mates, while certainly intense, had been almost human. Sometimes it was easy to forget that their lives were dictated by a set of instincts that were in many ways, foreign to her. This was amplified by the fact that her mates had grown up in the wizarding and dracken worlds, and had cultural norms from both to pull from as well. By the time the big room was back to looking like it had when they walked in, Hermione had gotten her thought spiral under control.

Her mates had kept a respectful difference while she processed, and so one by one she checked in with them, starting with Lucius, and ending with Charlie. Lucius in particular had been very tense while they cleaned, but a kiss and a 'It's ok, we'll figure this out together' went a long way to stilling his spirit. Charlie spent a couple extra minutes stroking her back the way he knew she liked, which banished the last bit of tension from her frame. They shared a smile before Hermione stepped away, much more composed. "Ok. Let's go back to Grimmauld and tell the boys I'm moving here tonight."


	38. Chapter 38

**Chapter 38**

**A/N:** Omgosh guys this chapter didn't want to be written. Darned it. It just didn't. Forgive me. I also have all my kids off school for the summer, which is EXACTLY as exhausting as it sounds, having five kids running around all the time.

Thank you as always to AlaskanAppaloosa, she's amazing and I love her.

Thank you for reading!

* * *

One by one the group stepped into the receiving room at Grimmauld place, and even Sirius' jokes were stilled at the tension that ran through the group. When Lucius made to sit at the table, Hermione rolled her eyes, grabbing her take-out box full of stir fried beef and vermicelli and walking into the muggle room. "I'm watching a movie. If any of you want a vote on what we watch, you better get in here." Lucius was baffled by the sudden stampede of bodies, with Harry, Charlie, and Sirius screaming out their choices.

"No girly movies!" Sirius screamed as he struggled to run with his scorching hot pho, while Harry yelled around the pad thai already in his mouth that, if they put on _The Fast and the Furious_ again, he would personally destroy the TV. Charlie on the other hand, was once again requesting the 'Cool car movie', seeming very put out that Harry was veto'ing him.

Lucius and Severus calmly helped themselves to Sirius' choices for them, with the formers meal matching Hermione's and Severus getting a stir fry with lots of rice. They finally joined the group in the muggle room, only to find that Hermione had veto'd them all and had put on _Ever After_, which caused the boys to groan, but they all gamely settled in to watch it. Hermione was, after all, always very willing to watch movies they picked, even if they did not interest her at all. Granted, she was also reading a book, but this retelling of one of her favourite fairy tales was one of the few movies able to pull her completely away.

With a regretful sigh, about an hour into the movie, Hermione paused it. "We had best get packing."

"Packing?" Sirius questioned, tilting his head slightly backwards to look at Hermione.

"Oh! I'm sorry, in the mad rush after the huge.. thing... I forgot to tell you. I'm moving out tonight."

The 'Oh hell no you're not!' and 'But you have a home here!' were expected, but with a single raised hand Hermione put an end to it. "I need to be with Lucius and Severus, which puts four of us in that little room." Looking pointedly at Sirius, "And frankly? You couldn't be nice for that long. Small controlled doses of them? Sure. But eventually you would snap and say or do something that we both regretted as soon as it was said and done, but by then it would be too late. No. It is best that we move out. I will be back to visit as often as possible."

It took another moment of Sirius and Harry pouting before they conceded she was correct, though begrudgingly so. It helped soothe over more than a few ruffled feathers when she announced the TV and DVD player were staying at Grimmauld, as she suspected her insanely rich husband would want to get top-of-the-line ones if he was to permit them to enter his house. Lucius didn't even deem this with a response other than a small crinkling of the skin around his eyes, but they all knew it was correct.

None of the men seemed particularly sad to abandon the movie, vanishing their take out boxes before getting to their feet and dividing up the collection of Hermione's things. It was decided that Harry and Sirius would check the living spaces, while Lucius and Severus would work on collecting her bathroom supplies and toiletries, as well as her books. The former task was given because it was the one task Hermione felt that if Lucius threw out all her old supplies she wouldn't be upset at all, and the latter because it was the one thing Lucius wouldn't dare meddle with. That left Charlie and Hermione to pack the bedroom and Hermione's clothing.

Bippy had brought over several magical trunks from the Manor, having overheard their conversation. She was more than a bit offended that Hermione had been considering not asking for their help, and had given "Missy Hermy" a thorough dressing down for it. Thoroughly chastised, Hermione apologized profusely while Charlie hid his laughter. Bippy graciously accepted her apology, then moved into Hermione's closet, ordering 'The Little Miss' to go and pack up other things in her bedroom.

Once Bippy was safely in the closet, Charlie burst into laughter. "You've been mated to Lucius for what? Not even a day? And she's already got you so whipped. Forget you training your elves. She's training you."

Hermione stubbornly refused to answer, but privately she agreed. Bippy clearly had a plan and was ruthless in executing it.

With a resigned sigh, Hermione set about collecting her things from around the room. Her books from the bedside table, and under the bed. Her writing supplies from the desk, as well as her assortment of muggle office supplies. The box of carefully protected wizarding world tools and supplies she kept under her bed came as well. Inside were her potion supplies, as well as her magical text books, and her Hogwarts paraphernalia. Without a potions lab or room to practice her spell creation, it had taken a back seat, but Hermione was certain that somewhere in the Manor, in one of the many nooks and crannies she hadn't seen yet, there had to be a place for Severus and herself to brew and create. If not, it wouldn't take long to convince Lucius to create such a space.

An amused-looking Severus strolled into the room just as Bippy and herself finished. "Lucius has declared that all your self care products, including your towels and bathrobe, are rubbish and no longer worthy to grace your skin. He has gone to France to collect new ones for you."

Hermione rolled her eyes goodnaturedly at this, "And this was why he was on toiletries and not clothes. Let him get me absurdly expensive designer soaps and shampoos. It's better than him buying me absurdly expensive, and also uncomfortable, clothes."

"I would never do such a thing." Lucius remarked as he strolled into the room, handing three large bags to Bippy, who popped away to drop them at the Manor. "All the clothes I bought you would be exceedingly comfortable, as well as luxurious and... as you put it 'absurdly expensive'. You can have both."

Hermione rolled her eyes at her mate, shaking her head slightly before her eye was caught by Charlie sizing up Severus, who was staring back just as intently. "Oh no! If you two are going to duke it out, not at Grimmauld. Take it somewhere else! I can't handle anymore stress today!"

It was Severus who pulled his eyes away from Charlie, meeting hers stoically. "There will be no altercation between Charlie and I."

Confusion hit Hermione, "Why? I thought dominance had to be established for all members of the mating."

"No." Severus drew out the word, sighing a bit at having to explain this. "My dracken submitted to Charlie, within moments of our mating being solidified. I have no wish nor desire to engage either of these men in a battle for the dominant position. I find that in male-on-male relationships, I prefer to be the bottom."

Hermione considered this for a moment before nodding. "I suppose you have spent a lot of time having to have iron control over your mind and life. It must be refreshing to release control to others from time to time."

Severus nodded, seeming relieved that she understood. "Indeed. What Mr. Weasley here was wondering, I'd bet my life... was whether he would be able to get past the 'he was once my student' stigma." His dark eyes turned once again to meet Charlie's, amused. "I assure you, Mr. Weasley, once the heat hits, you will not care that I was once your teacher, only that I am a willing body to sink yourself into."

Charlie snarled, stalking over to Severus and wrapping his hand around Severus' head and pulling him into a searing, biting, kiss. "I wasn't wondering that, you prick. I was wondering how long it would take to get into your pants. I've wanted you since sixth year. It wasn't just Hermione who chose you." Hermione smiled to see Severus fairly melt under Charlie's hands, which were roaming very liberally. The dour potions master obviously needed a reminder that he was more than 'a willing body' in this equation, and fortunately Lucius was already a step ahead of her, sliding up behind Severus, his hands joining Charlie's in exploring the body normally cloaked by heavy robes. Hermione was more than content to watch the potions master be thoroughly loved by their mates, but seemingly at once three pairs of eyes turned to her, and before Hermione could help it, her feet drew her forward into their embrace.

No words could describe the feeling of sheer perfection that was all three of her mates touching her. Hermione was never sure whose hands were where, or which set of lips were dragging over whose neck... but the sensory overload was nearly euphoric.

Unfortunately, Bippy chose this moment to interrupt them, her fingers flicking small stinging hexes at them, snapping them back to the real world.

"Stop that." The little elf demanded, stomping her little foot. "You have plenty of time to practice making babies later. For now, we have to move Little Missy into our home."

The snarls that met the declaration would have made a lesser creature quake in her boots, but Bippy just laughed. "You not scare Bippy with your grumpies. Sooner you pack, sooner you practice making babies for Bippy to hold."

Hermione was the first to break from the cluster of hands and lips, sighing regretfully as she righted her clothes. "She's right."

"Of course Bippy is right. Bippy is always right." Obvious exasperation was in the elf's voice as she motioned to Hermione's closet. "Little Miss' closet is packed. Bippy has also collected the other trunks and brought them to my Manor. Is there anything else Miss wants brought?"

"No, thank you Bippy. Is the master room available at the Manor?"

Bippy gave Hermione a knowing look as she nodded, "Yes, Miss. The master bedroom is ready. The elves being unpacking for you." With a small crack Bippy popped away, leaving Hermione to turn to face her mates.

"Let's go home. That master bedroom needs christening. I'll say goodbye to the boys in the morning." With a feral growl, her mates surrounded her, and to her surprise, apparated her into the Manor and directly onto the bed. "That's not..."

"Narcissa was a Black. There's a loop in the wards. Don't tell the other Black, now shut up and let us learn you."

Learn each other they did, until the early light of dawn.


	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter 39**

**A/N:** Thank you all so much for all your reviews! I love reading every single one.

Please remember that your favourite fanfiction authors only get paid in reviews and favourites. We live for them. I live for them. They feed the muse.

Thank you as always to my beta AlaskanAppaloosa! I love you.

* * *

Hermione woke enveloped in warmth that would be too much for a normal human, but perfect for her dracken self. A tangle of limbs surrounded her, but she was honestly just relieved it didn't involve wings as well. On her right was Charlie, and he had his arms thrown across both her and Severus, who was snuggled in on her left. Lucius was sprawled across the other side of the bed, with his arm tucked under Severus. It amused Hermione to hear the dominants quietly growl to one another in sleep, assuring each other that everything was safe and secure. It was adorable.

It took a couple of moments for Hermione to wiggle her way out of the pile of bodies. When Charlie seemed to stir, she whispered 'I need to pee' in his ear, which caused him to settle back into the bed. It was hilarious to listen to the males, even in their sleep, to realize she wasn't in bed and get grumbling, only to have Charlie's quiet growls settle them all back into sleep.

With a soft smile Hermione left to the en-suite, relieving herself and brushing her teeth quite thoroughly. After redoing the pony tail she had shoved her frenzied hair into the night before, she decided there was no way she was crawling back into the tangle of limbs. Her men could sleep in if they wanted, but there were things to do, she wasn't going to fritter her day away in bed.

Thankfully Hermione had had Lucius walk her to the big room from their bedroom last night, just to be sure that she could remember where to go without having to disturb Bippy. The elves had been up the night before sorting all her things into the various rooms in the Manor, and Hermione refused to disturb them. The room was still obscenely large, and weirdly empty of all hints that a family lived there. Her beloved mixer from Harry had been put on the counter, which gave her a strange sense of home.

Bippy had stocked the fridge with various foods that were easy to make, in Bippy's own words. "Master proof" for breakfasts at Hermione's request. From the fridge she pulled a grapefruit, and a couple of raw sausages. Peeking in the breadbox on the counter, Hermione found that one of the elves had made biscuits and was keeping them hot and fresh under a stasis charm. "Oh how wonderful." A wave of her hand cancelled the charm, releasing the smell of the fresh pastry into the air.

"Oh that's amazing. Thank you whichever elf made these!"

"You're welcome, Missy Hermy." Hermione jumped and screamed at the soft pop and voice behind her, spinning with her hand raised in defense before she realized it was an elf.

"Oh! You scared me!" She exclaimed, putting a hand over her thudding heart.

"Tippy is being sorry, Missy Hermy." The poor elf's ears were plastered against her head, and her large green eyes were sorrowful.

"Oh no! It's quite alright. You might want to move out of the way though." Tippy was just barely missed by her mates all running to her at the same time.

"Are you alright?" "We heard you scream." "Tell me who I need to kill." The words came out so fast and overlapping that Hermione could barely tell who spoke what, and her mates' noses were everywhere, checking her for injury. A glance at Tippy showed that the poor elf was turning paler by the moment, and Hermione vowed to put a stop to it.

"Stop. I'm fine. I said thank you to the elves, and Tippy here, who so kindly made us these _lovely_ biscuits, startled me a bit. There's no need to freak out, and certainly no need to do any killing! Rather, you should all thank Tippy for making us such a thoughtful breakfast." The looks her mates gave her were best described as 'over my dead body', but Hermione was stubborn, tapping her foot.

Finally one by one they thanked Tippy and then stumbled back into the room to get dressed.

The poor elf just stood there stunned as they all walked away. "Thank you Missy Hermy. You is a kind mistress."

"No, thank you! Now come, sit, tell me about yourself and everything I need to know about the Manor!" Hermione settled at the table after grabbing some jam from the fridge, arranging it next to the other food she already had taken out. "What are the ins and outs here? Where did my things get put away? What can I change? What will Bippy rip my head off for looking at? Shhh... don't tell her I said that. She's a teeny bit scary."

By the time Tippy had settled across the table from Hermione, smoothing her forest green dress down over her knees, she was giggling, bordering on full-on laughter. "She is scary. That why we keep her." Tippy politely turned down the biscuit Hermione offered, stating she had eaten in the kitchen with the other elves. "There is nothing you cannot change, Missy Hermy. Perhaps only thing you cannot change is elves jobs. We love our jobs. Your things have been put away, some in library, some in office, some in bedroom. Is there anything in particular you be needing?"

"Well..." Hermione hesitated, only to be fixed with a very stern glare. "I need my notebook and pencils. It's a spiral bound notebook, with Shakespearean quotes all over the front, and a blue mechanical pencil. It's my favourite. It has the perfect grip..." Hermione drifted off as Tippy nodded.

"Mr. Harry Potter warned us you would want this book." With a snap of the elf's fingers the aforementioned items appeared, to Hermione's happy gasp.

"Oh, thank you Tippy! Where will I find them next time?"

"You may put them whereever you like, but if elves put away, they will put in desk in your office."

Hermione hesitated again before asking another question. "Is there any chance that I could get a small desk moved up here near the kitchen? I know it's ridiculous, but I often like to take notes while cooking or just... bumming around, and it would be nice to have a place to store office supplies without having to go all the way down to the office."

"Of _course_ we can does that Missy Hermy! I am not being sure that we have a desk that will suit this room, is very white and most of furniture in attic is brown, but Tippy will look."

"Perfect, and if you can't find anything, I'm certain that Lucius would be happy to take me shopping."

"Of course I would, darling. Shopping for what?" Lucius was the first mate to come out of the room, fully dressed in a full black set of wizarding robes.

"Speak of the devil and he appears. A desk. I want one for up here by the kitchen. Something white and sturdy with drawers that slide just so and..." At Lucius' amused look Hermione drifted off, slightly shamefaced.

"My dear, I will take great pleasure in making sure you get the perfect desk that meets all your needs." Hermione huffed at him before opening her notebook with a flourish. At the top of the page she wrote in her best penmanship 'Things to buy', and immediately beneath it 'desk' was the first addition.

"Yesterday you mentioned something about a large... muggle contraption?" Lucius helpfully added, leaning over her shoulder to peer at her list. "And I suspect that you will need some more formal pieces of clothing as well."

Hermione sighed dramatically as she added the clothing to her list, "Yeah. I suppose. I guess." Lucius rolled his eyes at her dramatics as Hermione added the TV and all related paraphernalia to the list as well.

"What do you think of getting everyone cell phones?" At Lucius' confused look, Hermione sighed once again. "They're devices that you carry around that let you push a button and talk to the other person instantly."

The horrified look on Lucius' face told her all she needed to know. "Why? Why would you want such a thing? Instant access at any time? What happened to talking face to face? To the allure of having to wait a few moments to talk to your beloved."

"It would mean that if I was in trouble, you would instantly know all the details."

"They sound like a wonderful idea. Add them to your list."

Hermione chuckled, "Five phones. Done."

"Five?" Severus queried as he stepped into the room, his classic black robes swirling around his feet.

"I'm gonna need a grounding mate. Might as well get that person a phone at the same time."

"It's very wise of you to think ahead in this area. I for one, am glad you talked Mr. Respectable into a cell phone." Severus helped himself to one of the biscuits, eating it with only butter as he spoke. "They're a useful tool, and it would certainly help me with feeling more secure about letting you out of our sight."

"You know about these ... phones? Severus?" Lucius seemed perplexed.

"I grew up in a muggle household, Lucius. I try to stay abreast of all muggle technology. You never know when the next thing will come out. Besides, I have made a fortune off of spell patents that simply mimic muggle technology."

Hermione's curiosity was immediately piqued. "Oh? Please. Do tell."

"No."

"Awe c'mon, Severus. Teeeeell."

"Whining is unattractive in a mate."

"That doesn't matter, you're already stuck with me. Tell."

"No. It is to early to be drilled by you. Far to early." Hermione pouted at this, but conceded.

Lucius calmly ate his grapefruit as they bickered, subtly adding onto the list. 'Dishes for the kitchen', 'A set of robes in any color other than black' for Severus, and 'dress robes for Charlie'. Having caught him doing so, Severus leaned over Lucius to plant a kiss on his lips... crossing out the 'robes in any color' at the same time.

"Nice try, though."

"I thought it was a valiant effort."

At this point Charlie stumbled into the room. "Stop. You're all too witty for it being this early."

Hermione handed Charlie a large cup of coffee and a kiss. "You'll survive it."

"I doubt it."

All was right in the world.


	40. Chapter 40

**Chapter 40**

**A/N: ** Omgosh guys, you blew me away with your reviews this last chapter! Thank you so much! Fed my muse and now here I am with an extra long chapter, per requests! You guys are the best!

Thank you as always to my wonderful wonderful beta AlaskanAppaloosa. No one is as amazing as you m'dear.

* * *

Hermione was more than a bit shocked at how fast the rest of the morning went. Before she knew it, everyone was dressed in their muggle best and ready to go shopping. Charlie had had a fairly easy time of it, throwing on a red flannel and jeans, Severus had removed his robes and gone with a simple white t-shirt and black jeans... but poor Lucius. Lucius had had a conniption over the inappropriateness of leaving the house without robes.

Bippy, bless her heart, had stocked Lucius' wardrobe with all sorts of muggle clothing. Where she had got it, Hermione had no idea, and frankly, that was fine. Getting Lucius into a pair of grey slacks and white button-down shirt with black dragon-hide boots was the closest she got to 'casual' for him, and he was irate about even having to wear that. It had taken an obscene amount of kisses and promises of sexual favours and puppy dog eyes. He had stubbornly refused to do anything with his hair. It was staying down, and if she came at him with another muggle ponytail holder again he was going to curse her, mate or no. She had refused to let him use a satin bow to tie it back, so they were at an impasse.

Finally though, they were ready to go. The floo at the Leaky Cauldron had been opened for them, and it was going to be their transition point between the wizarding and muggle worlds. They decided to start in the wizarding world, as they would likely gain a lot of attention there, and earlier in the morning there were likely to be less people milling about.

Before they went through the fireplace, they reviewed 'the rule'. In this one thing all her mates were in complete agreement, much to her chagrin. She would stay within three feet of one of her mates at any given time. At first she had eye-rolled and grumbled, but she had had to compromise when the three of them had also been in agreement about not being able to speak to or touch anyone who she did not already know. As Harry Potter's best friend, she often got well wishes and thanks from random passers by. She refused to be rude to those people, and so the compromise was one of her mates would be nearby at all times, being as intimidating as possible to keep people away.

They had also come up with a plan for the muggle world and explaining their strange relationship. It had been decided that they would say she was married to Lucius, as he would be footing the bill for most everything, which was another battle Hermione lost. Charlie and Severus would be posing as her and his best friends, which would explain why they would be hovering and offering opinions on things as well. It had taken a ridiculous amount of negotiation, and an explanation that while in the wizarding world, polyandry was considered quite normal, it was illegal in the muggle world. Severus had taken to the arrangement quite easily, but Charlie had been very put out and had taken a good bit of snuggling to soothe.

Hermione, for her outfit that morning had chosen a black peasant skirt, and a white t-shirt with a red scarf tied around her neck. Her beaded bag was on her person as well, which she hoped would cut down on some of the strain of carrying large bags. This was Lucius after all, and she expected to burn a hole in the Gringotts credit card that Lucius had arranged to get when the prospect of mating her had come up. It was black and very fancy and even looking at it made Hermione feel pretentious and rude. She hated it.

Bippy came through to give everyone one more looking over before they left, and finally when the drill master had declared that 'they would do', they could leave. Lucius went through the floo first, followed by Severus, then Hermione, then Charlie. There had been a lot of debate about this, and Hermione was certain this was what they would stick with from now on, if only to avoid having to have the conversation again. This hierarchy thing was a pain sometimes.

By the time Charlie stepped out of the floo at the Leaky Cauldron, all eyes were on them. Hermione simply sighed, set her shoulders, and walked. Quite naturally Lucius ended up on her right, Severus on her left, and Charlie took up the rear, creating a protective barrier, which her dracken literally purred over. It was frustrating to feel both emotions clearly. The frustration over wanting to be an independent and modern woman, and the neediness of her dracken to be protected and cared for. They seemed constantly at odds with one another, and it made for a very cluttered brainscape.

Stepping into Diagon Alley was a relief, as it seemed the crush of eyes on them dissipated. There were only one or two other shoppers this early in the day, and they seemed content to just go about their business. Hermione, of course, wanted to stop by Flourish and Blotts, whereas Severus wanted to stop by the Apothecary, and Charlie wanted to get a cat or other pet for the Manor from the Magical Menagerie. He seemed to think that every child should grow up with some sort of pet, and with Hermione going to be pregnant soon, it was weirdly important to him. They had finally talked him out of some of the more obscure types of pets, and he had settled on a kneazle or cat. Lucius, for his part, was determined to go to Twilfitt and Tattings, and getting everyone measured for a brand new wardrobe. There had been protests from all the other mates, but by sheer stubbornness on his part, Lucius had eventually gotten them all to agree.

They also needed to stop at the new wizarding home wares store, to see if there were any things there that would be useful. Hermione was determined to lean as little as possible on the house elves until she had to, so having some conveniences around just seemed like a no-brainer.

It was decided that they would finish in Twilfitt and Tattings, because they would be hidden there for awhile in privacy and the Alley would be getting a bit busy by then, and they would start in Flourish and Blotts. Because Hermione refused to go do anything else until she had touched some books.

When they stepped into the book store, the poor girl manning the till was nearly snarled at when she said a cheerful 'hello'. Hermione politely greeted her and informed her she would call if she needed anything. Rather than set a limit on the amount of books gotten, Hermione had set herself a time limit in this store today. Thirty minutes. She had thirty minutes to find the perfect book. The real trick would be not letting Lucius so much as see her glance at a book or it would suddenly show up at the house, or on her pile of books she was purchasing today.

By the time they left, Hermione was happy, Lucius was frustrated, and there were only four books on the take home pile. Severus and Charlie tried valiantly to contain their laughter at the shade of puce that Lucius turned when he informed Hermione that if she didn't pick another book he would just buy the entire store for her, and she sharply informed him that if he did so, she would never accept another gift from him for their entire lives together.

The apothecary took significantly less time than even Flourish and Blotts, and was significantly less drama-filled. Severus had a standing order with the proprietor, and had simply added a few things into the box that was already prepared for him when they arrived. It was painless and Hermione was grateful, but the relaxation didn't last long.

At the Menagerie a full-on war was waged. Hermione wanted a little black male half-kneazle kitten with a very squishy face that reminded her of Crookshanks. Which was fine with everyone involved. The problem was the angry white number that was very bonded with him that Lucius loved and Severus hated. The little white kitten was everything Lucius was. Accepting of very few people and an outright bastard to those he didn't like. The problem was the only person he did like was Lucius. Not even Hermione could crack that stone-cold hatred. But every time they tried to separate the two kittens, they both meowed their loudest and most fierce, and hissed at anyone who dared to come between them. Finally, after Hermione declaring their bond 'adorable' and Severus calling them 'the Demon pair', as neither one liked him very much, they walked out with both kittens. Charlie was thrilled, Severus was murderous, and Hermione was deliriously happy.

Thanks to Lucius' attachment to the little white kitten, which they had found out was also male, the kittens were fully outfitted as the little princes they were. The little black one had affectionately been named Chester, and the white kitten had taken to the name Leopold. They had their own carriers, beds, top-of-the-line cat food, more toys than any cat would know what to do with, cat trees for every corner of the house, and Lucius was currently conferring with the proprietor of the shop to install cat walkways in most of the Manor, as Hermione had read in her research for Crooks that cats were happiest when they could view the world from above.

Severus looked positively murderous as he informed both the half-kneazles that if he ever caught them in his lab, they would quickly find themselves to be potions ingredients. Chester took this news with purring adoration, but Leopold took the time to pee on the corner of the box closest to Severus' feet, even though both of the kittens were thoroughly litter trained. It dribbled out of the box onto Severus' dragon hide boots and Hermione swore she could see steam come out of his ears.

Finally though, Lucius had bought one or six of every cat product in the place, and they were ready to go.

"We can't take the cats with us into Twillfit and Tattings, they'll kill us for getting shed hair onto their goods!" Hermione gasped in despair, but Lucius was already a step ahead of her.

Bippy and Tippy were both summoned to take the kittens home. Chester loved both of the elves, but Leopold, knowing which side his bread was buttered, sucked up to Bippy.

"Oh what a lovely kitty! Come here lovely kitty Bippy will take good care of you! Yes I will, yes, I will!"

Severus sneered down on Bippy at the baby talk, but thankfully they were quickly gone. "Thank God. Let's go get fitted."

"Words I never thought I would hear Severus Snape utter in his life." Hermione quipped to Lucius and Charlie's amusement.

"Hush, the demon pair are a nightmare and now thanks to you I have to live with them for the next ten to twenty years."

"Actually Severus, half-kneazle kittens can live as long as thirty years when properly cared for." Lucius ducked to avoid the swipe that came at the statement of fact. "Don't get mad at me for stating only the truth!"

Severus snarled brutally and stalked off, dragging Hermione with him. "Let's get this over with."

At T&T as Hermione had started to refer to it in her head, they took more measurements than Hermione had ever known they needed. Lucius watched a magical train of fabric swatches go by and selected fabrics for everyone, but mostly for her. It seemed that he was taking Harry's goal of filling her closet with wonderful clothes and was giving it crack. Her protests were met with deaf ears, and neither of her other mates were able to protect her, as they were busy fending off their own magical measuring tapes.

By the time they left everyone was looking forward to the muggle world, where measuring tapes didn't follow you around and measure sensitive areas with or without consent. Well, everyone except Lucius. The poor man looked like he was going to pass out at the idea of having to get into one of 'the muggle moving contraptions', but eventually everyone was settled and heading to the electronics store.


	41. Chapter 41

**Chapter 41**

**A/N:** Welp. Writers block hit my dudes. It hit... HARD. I literally wrote this chapter twice. I got halfway through and just... kept starting over. I didn't like, it wasn't flowing, it had no character, it was dry... I refused to give that to you. So I took a break, and then... I was laying awake in bed, and this chapter hit me like a ton of bricks... and now, I am back. I am writing, and I hope to continue to do so now that the characters seem to have moved into, you know, being characters again.

You'll notice this is one of the longer chapters... I wrote this all? In about an hour. It just... HAPPENED. It was wonderful.

Thank you to my beta AlaskanAppaloosa. You are a goddess among women.

* * *

Well, to say they were headed to the electronics store was generous. They were standing in front of the Leaky Cauldron, with the taxi Hermione had hailed. In the front seat was Severus, and in the back was Charlie. That was fine. The problem was Lucius.

Everything had been fine. He'd been holding it together until the cab pulled up, but now he stubbornly refused to get into it.

"No! That is a moving contraption of death! What even propels it? What happens if we hit another of these things? No! I refuse. All of you get out, we're going to apparate, like normal wizards."

Charlie took a quick look around before shooting a Confundus charm at the driver, throwing Hermione a pleading look as he did so. Finally, inspiration struck.

"Fine. Then stay here, Lucius. There are some things I need and I refuse to not get them because you are unable to get into the car." With that Hermione slid into the cab, buckling her seat belt with a smooth motion. When she closed the door behind her, the cab driver obligingly rolled down the back window, "We'll be back in a couple of hours. In the meantime, you stay here. You'll be unable to reach us if anything bad happens. I'm sure we'll be fine. We'll see you soon."

The speed at which Lucius opened the door and crawled inside the car to bury his face against her neck wasn't purely human, and once again the driver had to be hit with a mild Confundus. "There now. That's not so bad, is it?" Hermione purred to Lucius, reaching over him to close the door and buckle his seatbelt. Lucius growled in return, gripping her hand with a ferocity she was sure would have broken bones were she not a dracken. "It's all going to be fine." She murmured, stroking his hair as Severus told the driver where to go and snickered at his mate's panic.

"We're going to hold this over you for the rest of your life." The words were met with more growls from Lucius and laughter from Charlie. Thankfully the rest of the drive was uneventful as Lucius had his eyes buried in Hermione's hair.

When they got out of the cab, a hefty tip served to settle any ruffled feathers they had caused the driver and he left happy. Hermione was suddenly very grateful the store wasn't very busy, as Lucius was thrilled to get out of the car and insisted on checking everyone for injuries. While he was satisfying this urge, Hermione explained more thoroughly what they were here for.

"We're looking for a tv, a computer..."

"A gaming system!" Charlie piped up, a shit-eating grin all over his face.

Hermione gaped at him, her mouth hanging open for a second before she simply said. "Harry."

"Harry. Harry told me all about gaming systems. And DVD's. He said we should get lots of DVD's." Charlie grinned and seemed quite proud of himself, while Hermione mentally prepared to kill her best friend.

"And I guess a gaming system. I'd also like to look at getting an entertainment stand. Something solid the children can pull themselves up on without it tipping." Hermione raised her hand as Lucius opened his mouth to speak, "No. We cannot just buy one of everything. This is not a wizarding store run by a single family for generations. This store... Well, I guess the only way to make you understand... is to show you. Let's go."

With that, Hermione ushered her men into the store. Severus, being very used to muggle box stores, was unimpressed, but Lucius and Charlie seemed stunned by the sheer amount of items in this place. Wizarding shops were typically small businesses, doing their particular small niche thing to do, very well. This was not that store. This store was a multi-national conglomerate, and they sold... well, if it had a cord, it was sold there.

Once the men got over their shock, they had some questions. Mostly ones Hermione couldn't answer, about supplying and how one company manufactured all these goods, and how quality standards were met. She gave the best answers she could, "They ship them in bigger versions of the car we just rode in.", "They use lots of smaller companies to supply the products and then they sell them at a profit.", and "Sometimes they aren't, that's why we will be careful what we buy today and make sure we get a quality product." But there were other questions they had, about where the products shipped from, or how the profit was handled and shared among the smaller companies Hermione couldn't answer. Finally, once the questions had run dry, Hermione started leading them through the store.

They started in televisions, and for the first time in a while, Hermione found herself agreeing with Lucius. They did need the big TV. Everything else would look small and piddly in their ridiculously large grand room. Severus intimidated a sales clerk into following them around with a large push cart to collect their purchases, but once said clerk realized that today was going to be his best commission day of the year... he got much more accommodating. Not only did he get them the big TV, he also recommended a surround sound system, that Hermione veto'd because she had a plan for that that included some simple charms, and a couple of general media players. She took him up on the DVD player, but passed on the cable and antennae. "There is no way you are getting anything on that at the Manor." She explained to Lucius as she turned it down over his protests.

"He lives in this old manor house, it's been in his family for generations, but it's far away from anything resembling civilization, we're currently refurbishing it, so we pretty much need everything." The clerk nodded, but pointed them towards an internet router and modem, pointing Lucius to the most advanced ones. Hermione had already done some looking into integrating the internet into the wizarding home, and was interested to find if she could do anything with these. To Lucius' shock she added two more each of these items into the cart.

"I might need to do some experimenting to get these to work at the manor. I really don't want to have to come back if I break one... or three." Lucius grinned and added another of each to Hermione's sheepish grin.

Hermione wasn't sure when Charlie had snuck off the find the gaming systems, but on their now precariously stacked cart, she now saw a N64 and a Playstation, as well as a ridiculous stack of games for each. There were also extra controllers, and memory cards and at this point, Hermione wasn't sure even she could identify what all of these other things were. She was almost one hundred percent certain Harry had told Charlie to grab a few of these specific things... and then just one of everything else that looked cool. Apparently it all looked cool.

With a soft sigh they moved onto furniture, where Lucius felt much more comfortable. This was something he understood. Craftsmanship and quality were the same no matter what world you lived in. There was only one problem. None of these entertainment stands were up to his exacting standards.

"I refuse to put that piece of junk in my home. We will go to another store and get a piece of furniture made of real wood, that suits our needs and we can invest in and use for the next fifty years. I refuse to buy this... disposable garbage." The sheer contempt dripped off him, and Hermione gave the clerk an apologetic glance before she agreed, moving them on deeper into the store.

At computers, yet another debate came up. Desktop, or laptop, mac or windows? It took a while for Hermione to convince Lucius that just because it was more expensive, did not mean it was better, and they went for the windows computer. She lost the war on laptop vs desktop however, and they ended up with the high end model of both.

It surprised Hermione to find that Severus was the one pushing for these to be included in their home, and she told him so. "One day, this technology will be at the forefront of the muggle world. If you want our children to walk in that world as well as the wizarding one... they will need to know how to use these things." Well. That settled that argument. In they both went, as did several mice and mouse pads, several cleaning products, and a couple of sturdy keyboards.

In the next section, Hermione made each of her men pick out a cellphone and case, as well as choosing one for herself. They set them up right there in the store, using the address that Severus kept at Spinners End just for such an occasion. Each phone was programmed with Harry's number, and the number to all the other mates. Lucius seemed very skeptical of why he would want to carry around a brick of metal and plastic until he realized just how much more quickly it would let him have access to his mates, and then he was all for it.

In the last section, Hermione picked out several household pieces that she wasn't sure she could live without. Many of her things had actually been Harry's, and thus had stayed at Grimmauld place. But there were some things about Muggle life she wasn't willing to give up. A good coffee maker made its way into the cart, which by now had to be replaced with a second cart, as did a rice cooker and a small electric sandwich press. On the bigger end, Hermione bought a very well reviewed vacuum, as well as a dust buster, a couple of fans, and two full large washer and dryer sets, because some quick math told Hermione that at between one and five children a year, almost every year, for the rest of her life... that was a lot of little pants and shirts and undies that would need to be washed. One was not going to cut it. The wizarding world had no really great replacements for a well put together washing machine, so into the cart it went.

In the end Hermione gasped at the number the bill came to, but Lucius didn't even blink as he swiped his credit card. "Narcissa used to spend more than this on shoes every month, Hermione."

"That's not the point!" She stage whispered back as Severus set up delivery to his Spinners End home.

"Let me do this. It... makes me happy to provide the things you want and need." Grudgingly, Hermione agreed, earning herself a kiss on the nose for her patience. If the clerk was confused by the number of men who had touched or kissed her this shopping trip, he wisely chose to keep it to himself, preferring instead to think of the large commission cheque coming to him. With a smile and wave the group left, once again piling into a hailed taxi, and this time Lucius came along much more willingly.

The next stop was a home goods store, and this was more higher-end to meet Lucius' needs. Here, the king of luxury really found his niche. Even Hermione was stunned by just how much Lucius loved to shop. Where Charlie shuffled around, every once in awhile sneaking a soft pillow or cute looking statuette into the cart while mostly looking bored, and Severus picked up purely practical things such as organization buckets and stationary... Lucius leaned towards the extravagant. Meters and meters of curtains, an abundance of hypoallergenic pillows in a range of greys, whites, and golds. Curtain clasps and art, knick knacks, candle sticks, decorative bowls, book ends, and of course, a large white entertainment stand, all were deemed worthy to grace the halls of Malfoy Manor. By the time he was done, Hermione was certain there wasn't a thing left in the store they hadn't touched.

It turned out? She was wrong. Next Lucius moved them into bedding. A mattress was the first thing he chose, buying two large king sized mattresses and headboards. They had previously agreed that this and some small transfigurations would be a better fix than constantly fully transfiguring a bed that fit all of them. Next came sheets, in which he mumbled something to the clerk about thread count and fibre and got the softest most luxurious sheets Hermione had ever felt. These were quickly followed by duvets, and pillow cases, and even more pillows, this time for sleeping.

Hermione put her foot down when he tried to move into baby things. "No! Not happening! I am not ready to think about that today! NO." With a reluctant sigh he agreed and they left the store, having once again spent more money than Hermione could reasonably say was worth spending, but with a happy Lucius, and a settled Severus, who had loaded up with everything he could want to help make their house run like a well oiled machine.

There were two final stores to hit up, and she was grateful they were quite near one another. The first was a grocery store... and the last was a muggle book store. It wasn't often she got the opportunity to go to a muggle bookstore as opposed to a wizarding one, and this particular one sold used as well as new books, so it had a great variety.

But first. The grocery store. Here, Charlie really shone. Where Severus spent most of the time putting healthy options into the cart, Charlie walked through the store confidently, a little baffled by all the options muggles had, as well as their ways of preserving food... but for the most part, outside of the prepared foods... much was the same between the muggle and wizarding worlds, and Charlie was in his element. He placed items into the cart, conscious of things that could and could not be bought easily in the wizarding world, stocking up on things that Hermione loved but struggled to find there, including crisps, pre-baked cookies, and some of the more exotic fruit and vegetable options that hadn't quite made their way into the old fashioned pallets of the wizarding world yet. He often asked Hermione and Severus' opinions on things he hadn't tried, and more than once something made it into the cart just because he wanted to taste it for himself. Salsas of various heat intensity, and all sorts of hot sauces in particular seemed to get him very excited.

By the time they were done there, they had a very happy Severus who had stocked his family with all sorts of healthy food that would keep everyone well nourished, and a nearly giddy Charlie, who was happily eating chocolate biscuits even as they went through the checkout line.

The next store was right next door, so while Severus and Charlie snuck into a nearby alley to shrink and carefully store the groceries in their paper bags they had bought for this reason, Hermione and Lucius headed in. Once again Hermione had to restrain Lucius from buying her everything she laid her eyes on, instead picking and choosing books that she had read and wanted to read again, wanted her children to read, or wanted to read herself. In the end, Hermione had loaded up her own arms, and left three large stacks on the counter for the poor woman at check out to ring up. The woman seemed very worried about how they were going to carry it all out of there before Charlie and Severus came in to 'lend a hand getting those out of here into the taxi'. When the total came up, Hermione just shut her ears and walked away, knowing that Lucius would be offended at the thought of her being frustrated at the price of her hobby.

All in all, this day had been very productive. A quick stop at Greggs provided each of the mates a sausage roll, which held off the hunger until they could get home to Bippy's lovely cooking. Everyone agreed the day was well spent, and even Lucius had relaxed enough in the car to look out the window. By the time they got out at the Leaky Cauldron, he almost looked relaxed. They waved a quick hello to the barkeep on their way through, moving to the floo to let themselves back into the Manor. It had been a long day, and Bippy had said something about beef pies for dinner, after all. They had to make it back in time for that.


	42. Chapter 42

A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who reviews, I love and read every single one, they feed my muse so beautifully.

Thank you as always to AlaskanAppaloosa, you're a wonder.

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Over the next few days, Hermione made it her goal to make Malfoy Manor her home, which meant a lot of moving things around. Her personal pictures made it onto shelves, and her favourite, most dog-eared books made it onto that little bookshelf by the reading nook. The TV got put up over the mantel, and below it, Hermione placed the snitch Harry had given her, one of Severus' first potions bottles, a picture of Draco for Lucius, a picture of her boys being goofs, some of the various knick knacks Lucius was so fond of, and a gold statuette of a dragon- and she made sure to leave some space for an item or two for her last mate. It instantly lent an air of home to the, until now, nearly clinical house.

One of the rooms off the grand room was, with Severus' help, set up as a laundry room. It turned out most of those spells he had patents for were for setting up various muggle appliances, including a washer and dryer to run in a magical household without the need of the interior plumbing that muggle houses had. His input was invaluable. He also had a flair for organization that Hermione loved, and between them, they created a laundry system that thrilled her far too much for what it was. Lucius was completely baffled by why this would be something they cared about, as the elves would be doing the laundry, but Bippy had told him to 'shush and let Missy and Master Severus bond'.

Over the next few days, Hermione and Bippy familiarized themselves with each others quirks and ways. Many times the men would come into a room to find one of two things. Bippy and Hermione vehemently arguing over whether or not the latter was allowed to do a particular thing, or those same two in buckets of laughter together. By the end of the week, Hermione couldn't imagine life without the formidable house elf.

Nights were spent learning one another, and slowly, the days reached a certain amount of normalcy. Charlie went back to work on the dragon reserve, flooing to Romania every morning, and coming home every night for dinner and snuggles before they all settled into bed together. Lucius worked from home as normal, and slowly Hermione started to get educated on his work and the running of Malfoy Industries. Severus brewed from home as well, which meant there was almost always someone hanging around the giant home.

The boys had made the Manor a regular in their work days, and at least three times that week they had stopped by and enjoyed dinner and family time. Tippy was particularly enamoured with Sirius, who treated her as a princess, and so there were always fresh cookies and pastries when he graced the house.

Neville had come over as well, and it was nice to get to know him as her brother. It was still strained, and if they were honest, sometimes outright difficult to be around each other. Augusta always sent her regards through Neville, and Hermione always hated receiving them, and Neville was always more than a little sad that his family was so fractured.

Unfortunately, with having a baby or five every other year or so, a normal job was not an option for Hermione. Augusta Longbottom lent the kind of rapport and reputation that Hermione needed to crack into the glass ceiling of the aristocratic sect that would allow her to succeed in the charity sphere, so soon she would have to mend that bridge and settle this once and for all. Her dracken honestly hated the idea, viewing Augusta as someone who had abandoned her, rightly or wrongly, and therefore untrustworthy. In this, though, Hermione refused to be ruled by her instincts. If this was what it would take to be a help to the people around her, then building a relationship with Augusta Longbottom would have to happen- there had been greater sacrifices made in the name of the greater good.

Life ebbed and flowed into a sense of normalcy so readily that it shocked Hermione when the sudden change to craving grains happened. One morning she woke and rather than the rare steak or hunted kill from her mates she had been craving before... it was oatmeal and toast with lots of berries and honey. Her mates, having been keeping track of her cycle, were unsurprised, but for Hermione it threw into sharp relief the reality that in only a few short weeks, she would be pregnant.

On one hand? The part of her that was still an orphan sitting alone in the orphanage praying to someone to please bring her a family rejoiced in knowing that her child would be so loved and wanted... but another part of her resented this shift in life plans. A baby meant sleepless nights and diapers and breast feeding and frankly, it meant a lot of rearranging her life. It was hard to consider that her own childhood had been so fragmented, and now her adult life was also changed by something she had no control over.

It was Severus who understood her mixed feelings the most. Charlie was completely baffled by them. He had always known he wanted a ridiculously huge house full of children, and was willing to do whatever was needed to make that happen... and Lucius. Oh dear Lucius. Just wrote off her concerns with a "If you want to work, then you will work, and we will do whatever we have to to make that happen. You do not need to worry about this." And while she appreciated the thought... It was Severus who understood that this particular feeling was more mourning than a complaint. More a feeling of missing what could have happened, of grieving a change that had broken her from her chosen path. In his life, Severus had had many such changes, and thus it was his stalwart form she turned to when the feelings threatened to overwhelm her. He never failed to wrap her in his wings, hold her close, and whisper to her of how it was ok. That this change wasn't bad, and yes, it would mean different things, but those things were still beautiful, and that it was ok to be sad that things couldn't be the way she had wanted them to be for so long. When she was calm he would kiss the top of her head and carry her to the reading nook, where they would sit and read together, separate books on the same topic so they could have detailed conversations later. It never failed to make them both feel completely at home and cared for, soothing ruffled feathers and settling the warring dracken.

Fortunately, between jobs Hermione had plenty of time to consider just how she was going to fill her time. Reforming the wizengamot was high on that list, but there was one other concern that filled her head, prompting her to ask one single question to Lucius.

"Where do magical orphans go?"

Lucius, sitting at his desk reading over a business document, paused briefly to collect his thoughts before speaking. "Well, as often as possible, magical orphans go to the nearest blood family, or an appointed god parent. Those who do not have family willing to take them in, or an assigned god parent willing to do so... Get placed in the custody of a Ministry. I... do not know what happens from there, if I am honest with you, Hermione."

The wheels in her brain turned so frightfully fast, Lucius could swear he saw smoke coming out of her ears. "We need to find out what happens to those children. What happened to the magical children at the orphanage I was at? What about the others? I assume the muggle children were placed into the muggle system... but muggle foster parents and other facilities... don't know how to deal with magical children. So where did they go? What happened to them?" Hermione started to pace, rapidly talking. "Were they shuffled into the muggle system as well? Are they being held in custody somewhere? Did the ministry somehow find foster parents for the children? Are they working on a magical orphanage? Is there the funding and manpower to make such a thing?"

With a happy gasp she whirled to face Lucius. "I know what I want to do with my life."

Lucius smiled entreatingly, having already considered that this was where Hermione's life would take her. "And what is that, love?"

"I want to help magical orphans. I'm sure the Malfoys have a property somewhere. Some place we could make into an orphanage. We have connections at the ministry, and Merlin knows we have enough money to get it started, though we would need charitable donations and volunteers and... Oh Lucius, we could give them a home. Not a clinical sterile orphanage... a home. A place where magical people can come and adopt magical children, but also a place where those children can grow and be loved."

Never before had Lucius loved somehow as much as he did watching his mate tear up at the idea of those children being loved and cared for by someone who understood their pain. He rose to wrap his arms around her, kissing the top of her head gently. "Yes we can, darling. I had.. considered that this was a route you may consider, and I've taken the liberty of going through the holdings and picking out a few properties that may work for you to review. Can I make a small suggestion? Don't do this through the Ministry. You'll never get anything done. Make this is a charitable organization with Ministerial oversight." Hermione was already nodding, her wand waving to summon her white boards from where they were stored in her office.

"Do you mind if I do this here while you do your paperwork?"

"Of course not. Just let me get those files for you."

The next few hours were spent with Hermione writing down everything she could think of for a magical orphanage, with Lucius giving his opinion whenever he deemed it necessary.

First came a breakdown of all the houses, but Lucius had flagged his favourite and Hermione tended to agree with him on it. It was a bit more run down than the others, but it was an older home that was built in a style that would work very well for this application. The main floor was split into multiple rooms that Hermione could see being used as classrooms or meeting rooms, the basement, which was rare enough in an older home, was split into a large room and servants quarters, which Hermione could easily see retrofitting into a cafeteria and elf headquarters. It also included some spaces that were obviously meant as storage spaces that could be used as smaller classrooms or safe rooms for children who were infected with lycanthropy, which Hermione had been keeping in the back of her mind as well. The rest of the living spaces, including the bedrooms, gave the house a full capacity of about sixty children and their caregivers, which Hermione was nearly certain would be plenty of space in the wizarding world.

There would be some issues getting up and running of course, but nothing that was worth doing was pain free, and this was worth doing. Harry and Sirius found her several hours later, pouring over a book that Lucius had acquired for her about the laws that governed children in the wizarding world, including those that were orphaned, completely engrossed in it.

It took a bit of looking around at her notes before they realized what she was researching, but once they did, they had some ideas of their own. Talks about how much each could donate towards the project were thrown around, as was Harry's ability to pull some strings at the ministry... but also to be an outward public representative. If such a program as Hermione was thinking had been around when Harry had been orphaned, he might have grown up in a home such as this one rather than with his muggle family. It was also baffling to him that no one had thought to check on him in that time to ensure that his magic was developing properly or that he was being cared for. This particular line of thought drew Hermione away from the law book.

"It's because there are no laws for it. It seems when the wizarding world wrote the laws regarding children... they just assumed that all magical children would be placed with magical families. There isn't even a magical equivalent of child protective services! It is just assumed that all children will be treated properly, and that their magic would protect them. What bollocks."

"Wait, then what happens if someone suspects a child of being abused?" Harry queried, confused more than anything.

It was Sirius who answered, "I've only ever heard of one case being reported, and it was reported to the aurors, who investigated it as a criminal manner. In the end the parents were found to have abused the child, who was placed with their nearest living relatives, and the parents were placed in Azkaban."

With this Hermione started pacing. "This problem is bigger than I thought it was. It's not just orphans falling through the cracks. It's all the children of the wizarding world. How do we do this? How do you tackle an issue so huge, so systematic?"

Lucius, having snuck back in the door during her little tirade, answered. "You don't."

At the stunned looks thrown at him, and near fury on Hermione's face, he continued. "You cannot change a huge systematic problem all at once. You change it in steps. Small piece by small piece. It may take years. In fact, in this particular case, I believe it will. But that does not make it not worthwhile."

Hermione sighed and nodded. "It's not ok, Lucius. Children should be protected."

"Yes." Lucius' arms slipped around her neck, and she snuggled into his chest. "But you cannot change this all at once. Start with the orphans. Once you have the ministry convinced that they have to intervene in those children's lives? It will be easier to convince them that they need to intervene for all children." He gestured to Harry, "Use Mr. Potter here. He will be your greatest tool. The ministry has a 'vested interest in keeping out of this. Old families will not want the ministry to have the power to curtail their practices raising their children. You will need the public outcry for these little ones to be so strong, the ministry doesn't have a choice but to accept the changes you propose."

Charlie and Severus were more than a bit baffled to find them all there, in Lucius' study, still talking about the logistics of this project many hours later, but once they caught onto the conversation, they were instantly drawn in. Severus especially was very vocal about the fact that if anyone from the ministry had looked in on his household anytime in the years leading up to his Hogwarts placement, or even afterwards, they would have found abuse and could have changed the course of his life, as well as his mother's.

Hermione plopped herself down on Severus' lap, running her fingers over the butts on his long robes. His arms wrapped around her, his long fingers deftly running through her hair, gently detangling as he went. It was frustrating to Hermione to consider that the man that had intimidated so many students had once been a student himself who came home from breaks thin and bruised, and no one had bothered to look in on him or his home life. It made Hermione irate that he had had to suffer like that, hated by a drunkard father. If anyone anywhere along the line had just... looked a little closer. The whole of wizarding history could have been changed, James and Lily might still be alive, Severus might have grown to look more like the man he was today than the surly and angry one she had known as a student.

Bippy, wonder that she was, had provided dinner in Lucius' study, allowing them to continue their planning well into the evening until finally they called an end, sending Harry and Sirius home and heading to bed themselves, content in knowing that they had laid out a concrete plan to change the lives of orphans all over the wizarding world.


	43. Chapter 43

**Chapter 43**

**A/N:** Welp. It's been awhile. I wish I could say there was some grand reason why, but mostly? I got writers block. I wrote half of chapter 44 and hated it. 3 pages of writing in and I just... wasn't feeling it. And so every time I tried to come back to it I would just... not. And so last night as I was laying in bed I realized what was I actually want to take this story for the next couple chapters. So you shoul dsee more regular updates until that thought train ends. Thank you so much to my lovely beta AlaskanAppaloosa who is a GEM. And to all of you who read this story, even with my weird update schedule.

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The day had come. She knew it had, but that didn't stop the dread slowly seeping into her brain. It had to be done. Without this woman's support... it was doubtful that her goals would ever be met. Intellectually Hermione knew this. She knew that without Augusta Longbottom... her wonderful orphanage would never happen, let alone the laws she needed to completely reform to make the Wizengamot and Ministry safer for not fully human inhabitants... Yet somehow, somehow that motion of throwing the floo powder into the fire place and calling out for Neville's home still seemed impossible.

For fifteen minutes now, Severus, her escort for this trip out of the Manor, had been standing there patiently. Hermione could actually feel his tension building as she dithered. "Hermione." Severus sighed, turning dark eyes to her. "This is not productive. Are we going? Or are we staying here and brewing?" It was clear which Severus preferred, but at this Hermione sighed deeply, steeling herself and dropping the powder, whisking them out to the Longbottom home.

Neville was there, waiting for them. "Hermione. I was starting to get scared you weren't coming." He said in relief as he gave her a tight hug.

"You're not the only one." Hermione whispered. "I honestly wasn't sure I was coming until Severus suggested brewing instead. But this has to be done. We can't live like this forever. It's not healthy."

"You have no idea how much this means to me, Hermione." Neville stammered a bit before he continued, "I know you don't see it, but she is torn up inside. If she had known..."

"She didn't check, Neville. It never occurred to her to check. She had her heir for her house, and that's all that mattered to her. But we are going to let by-gones be by-gones. I need her, and she seems... willing to make an effort at least. Anyways. Tell me about your greenhouse."

The next several minutes of walking through the Longbottom ancestral home were taken up with Neville and Hermione animatedly talking about the new variants he was working on, including several types of medicinal plants interbred to create stronger versions. Severus was particularly interested in these and how they would change the potions brewed with them. By the end of the walk, both Neville and Severus were fully engaged in conversation, which was something Hermione honestly never thought she would see. It was amazing to see Neville forget his terror and rather engage with Severus as an adult and an expert in his own rights.

They spent several minutes standing outside the door, continuing their conversation about aconite variations before Augusta's elf opened the door and loudly cleared her throat, interrupting them. "Mistress Augusta will be seeing you now." The little elf said imperiously, clearly frustrated with them.

"Oh. Right. Grandmother." Neville blustered, ushering Hermione and Severus into the sunroom Augusta had chosen for this particular conversation.

Augusta seemed quite tense this time as well, but for the first time, Hermione saw some vulnerability as well. This was a woman who had spent some time thinking about this moment, and had worried for it. With that, Hermione decided to put forth the effort. If Augusta was going to genuinely try... then it was the least Hermione could do to do the same.

"Augusta." Hermione smiled, awkwardly dipping into a curtsy and then reconsidering halfway through it, jerking upright.

"Sit, child." Augusta smiled, laughter shining in her eyes. "You remind me of your mother. She never quite knew how to greet me either."

Hermione hesitated for only a moment before asking the question that had burned at her, "Tell me about them, please."

Augusta seemed to drift for a moment before her eyes met Hermione's. "What do you want to know?"

"Anything. Everything."

Augusta took a moment to consider before speaking. "I didn't expect the conversation to go this way, so forgive me, my dear. Your father... was an intense child. Fiercely independent. He wanted to do it all himself. He seemingly had no fear, and that translated into his teenage years as near recklessness. He loved sports and made friends in the village to play muggle sports with..." Augusta drifted into silence for a moment before continuing.

"Your mother was his equal in every way." A small smile graced Augusta's face. "I was opposed to her at first, you know? No one was good enough for my Frank. But Alice... oh Alice gave me as good as she got. You'd think Frank would end up with someone meek and mild to balance him out... but instead he got Alice. Fierce and bold and smart as a whip."

Hermione smiled softly, "Were you upset he chose a human mate?"

Augusta looked almost shocked at this question before shaking her head. "No, my dear. See, Franks' father and I, we're human." At the puzzled look on Hermione's face, Augusta continued. "If you have drackens in your ancestry, the dracken gene can present itself at any time in your offspring, just as full-blooded drackens can birth witches or wizards or even muggles. When Frank was born and we discovered he was a dracken, we were shocked. In many ways, Frank taking a witch as a mate was a capitulation to me and his father."

Hermione nodded slowly, taking a deep breath before asking the question that had been hanging in the air between them. "Why didn't you check. Why didn't you look for our bodies? Why did you just... leave."

Augusta took a studdering breath before she spoke, seeming to steel herself against the flood of emotions such questions caused. "That night... that night was the worst night of my life, Hermione. Imagine. We're sitting for tea, relaxed and happy-" For a moment Augusta's eyes glazed over, clearly remembering the tender moment, but were soon dark and stormy. "And then they came. I felt the wards trigger first. Then everything... moved so fast. Frank was everywhere all at once, wings spread and furious. I grabbed Neville and Alice grabbed you, and we tried to apparate, but they had to have been planning for awhile, just outside the wards, because we couldn't..." Augusta's eyes filled with tears at the rememberance. "That was when I started to panic. Alice, bless her heart, wanted to stand and fight, but a snarl and an order from Frank sent her running for our escape tunnel, you in her arms. I heard, rather than saw, the men enter the house. There were so many. Frank was glorious, fighting with all his considerable strength... but in the end..." Another deep stuttering breath. "In the end, he was killed. I _felt_ it, I swear I did. I felt the moment he died in my heart. I died that moment too."

Here Augusta paused for a long moment before continuing. "We ran. I was ahead with Neville, and Alice..." Pain filled Augustas eyes. "I don't know when I lost her. She was right there... and then she just... wasn't. I didn't even hear her get-... She was just gone, and you with her."

Augusta's tear-filled eyes met Hermione's. "You must understand. I _had_ to get Neville to safety. I had no way to stand against them, I was no dracken, and they had already taken Frank. I had to save who I could... and God forgive me, but I couldn't save you."

Full-on sobs wracked Augustas frame at this confession, and Hermione fought the urge to envelope the older woman into a hug. After a moment, Augusta steeled herself and continued. "At the time, I assumed they were death eaters. It was the middle of the first war... and Frank and Alice had been particularly active in it." Pride shone in the formidable lady's eyes at the remembrance of her family standing against the darkness. "It didn't occur to me until much later that I had heard muggle gunshots. Death eaters would never lower themselves to use muggle weaponry. But by then... you were gone. I assumed killed. So I focused on the child I had left. Raising him, loving him."

Severus' hands descended on Hermione's shoulders, massaging slowly as Augusta collected herself. After a moment of dabbing away tears and straightening her shoulders, Augusta's eyes met and held Hermione's. "I cannot apologize enough for not looking for you. I have no excuse save a mother's broken heart. What I can do now is help you. I know that our family is... uniquely powerful in the wizarding world. We are respected by old pure blood families, for our wealth and our supposed 'purity'... and yet are a light family to the core. We have the votes you will need to enact any sort of reasonable change..." For a moment Augusta's eyes softened. "And. As a grandmother... I am not a soft woman. But I would like to know you. I would enjoy... meeting your mates, your children. Perhaps what was broken... can be mended, to a point."

Hermione glanced over her shoulder at Severus before standing. Neville, knowing what was coming, broke into a smile as she took the few steps to enfold Augusta in a hug. "I cannot promise that this relationship will ever be... what it could have been. But I have had no family for a long time, it would be ridiculous of me to reject now that it has reached out to me."

Augusta was shocked by the hug, but for a single moment wrapped her arms around Hermione, her fingers twining the younger woman's hair before she coughed and pushed her away. "Yes. Well. Thank you. I believe that would be sufficient."

Neville chuckled and wrapped Hermione in a full hug, twirling her gently. "Yes, I believe it will."

A few more minutes of small talk went on between the newly united family, but it was clear that everyone was too emotionally drained by the interactions that had taken place to really enjoy one another's company just yet.

Lucius eventually rescued them, sending his stallion patronus to request their presence at home. Augusta was given another awkward hug, and Neville a more snuggly one and a promise to come over for dinner soon before Hermione and Severus disappeared through the floo. Her mates were calling her home.


End file.
